BELLEFONTE, Pa. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach charged with over 50 criminal counts of sexual abuse against children, appeared in court Tuesday and then waived his right to a preliminary hearing. In doing so, Sandusky avoided a dramatic confrontation with the 11 witnesses present, which included a number of his alleged victims. Gasps could be heard throughout the courtroom when the judge announced the waiver. Some legal insiders interpreted Sandusky's decision as a sign that he might be considering a plea deal, even though the 67-year-old coach has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation. Deputy Attorney General Marc Costanzo said the waiver "helps the prosecution in a lot of ways," and that Sandusky's alleged victims would not have to testify twice in the case. But in an unlikely turn of events, a Twitter post from famed quarterback Brett Favre -- and Sandusky's rash response to it -- may have given the prosecution all the ammunition it needs to secure a conviction.

Tactical Defense Strategy
Sandusky's defense attorney, Joe Amendola, told reporters that the waiver was part of his team's overall strategy to prove their client's innocence. "Tactically, this makes sense," said Hal Kaplunski, a copyright lawyer from Pennsylvania who believes Sandusky was framed. "The more the jury hears testimony from alleged victims and so-called witnesses, whose stories are highly inconsistent, the more consistent and believable they seem."

Kaplunski also noted that the defense will probably predicate the bulk of its efforts on discrediting those witnesses, beginning with graduate assistant Michael McQueary, who told the grand jury that he reported seeing Sandusky molesting a 10-year-old boy in a locker room shower in 2002.

Kaplunski scoffed: "It's fairly ridiculous when you think about it. If McQueary watched Sandusky trying to run a two-point conversion into some little boy's end zone, why didn't he intervene or call the police? If you saw Jerry Sandusky turned loose on a busload of stranded Cub Scouts, like a caged bull put out to stud in a dairy farm full of blind, gagged, legless cows, wouldn't you do something about it? Yell? Turn a hose on him? Call 9-1-1? You wouldn't walk away and then casually mention it to bus company later that afternoon."

Sandusky himself seems to believe that none of the charges will stick once the jury sees his alleged victims. "I stand accused of having sex with little boys," he reportedly told a group of fifth-graders near the courthouse on an unrelated field trip. "But the people presenting their version of events to the jury are in their mid to late twenties. They're adults, not beautiful, unspoiled, eager-to-please children. As far as I see it, this case has no merit."

A Gunslinger Comes to Town
As of Tuesday evening, however, Sandusky's hopes for a solid defense were dashed by a Twitter post from NFL record holder, Brett Favre, also known as "The Gunslinger." In the autumn of 2010, Favre himself landed in hot water over accusations of sexual harassment when he texted a picture of his tiny, tiny penis to a female employee of the Jets during his year with the team.

In the post this afternoon, Favre tweeted: "Not sure Sandusky likes kids but he’s gay for me. Big queen. When my d**k pics got out he sent his # w/note 'dirty boys need showers.'"

Moments later, a post from Sandusky's account appeared in reply: "I didn’t know it was really your acct. Hard to believe a big strapping football hero’s got a prick the size of a 10-year-olds."

Both Twitter posts have been taken down at the request of prosecutors, who intend to use them as evidence against Sandusky.

Representatives for the defense declined to comment.

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