Pennsylvania judge to sentence Sandusky for child abuse

(Reuters) - A Pennsylvania judge will hold a closed-door briefing with attorneys on Monday to make final preparations for the sentencing hearing of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach convicted of molesting 10 boys.

Judge John Cleland could send Sandusky 68, to prison for up to 373 years when he hands down the sentence on Tuesday at the courthouse in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, the scene of a June trial that focused national attention on the issue of child sexual abuse.

Sandusky, once the defensive coordinator for Penn State's powerhouse football team, was convicted in June on 45 counts of child sexual abuse. His lawyers, Karl Rominger and Joe Amendola, have said they plan to appeal. They contend they did not have enough time to prepare for the high-profile case.

Sandusky's lawyers and prosecutors will meet with Cleland on Monday afternoon at the courthouse to hash out last-minute questions before sentencing.

It was not known whether Sandusky will testify at his sentencing hearing. He did not take the stand at his trial, and has maintained he did not abuse the boys he met through The Second Mile, a charity he founded for at-risk youth.

Immediately before the sentencing, the state's Sexual Offenders Assessment Board will report to Cleland on its evaluation of whether Sandusky is a sexually violent predator. The designation would put him under reporting requirements if he were to be released from prison on probation.

Sandusky's abuse ranged over 15 years, from fondling to anal and oral sex, including the rape of a boy in a football shower in 2001.

Daniel Filler, a law professor at Philadelphia's Drexel University, said the judge likely would focus on two factors in sentencing: the severity of the crimes and Sandusky's background, both good and bad.

"What would normally be a defendant's strongest argument for leniency - a lifetime of good works - may be used to justify a harsh sentence for Sandusky because he betrayed the trust of the kids he served," Filler wrote in an email.

The Harrisburg Patriot-News reported last month that two of Sandusky's victims would speak about the impact on the victims.

One is a 28-year-old man, designated as Victim 4 in court documents, who said Sandusky lavished him with gifts and trips to football bowl games while abusing him during the 1990s.

The second is Victim 5, now 23, who Sandusky molested in a Pennsylvania State University shower in 2001, the newspaper said. Attorneys for the men were not immediately available to comment.

The explosive scandal led to the firing of revered head football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier. Paterno died in January of lung cancer at age 85.

(Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-judge-sentence-sandusky-child-abuse-151117452--nfl.html

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