PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- In a devastating turn of events for disgraced former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, who has maintained his innocence after being convicted on 45 counts of sex abuse against children, his adopted son Matt, 33, told police that he was molested repeatedly between the ages of 8 and 15 by his father. In his interview with police, Matt Sandusky recanted his former testimony to a grand jury in which he denied being violated. These secret meetings with investigators took place four days into the trial, although he ultimately did not testify. Still, the senior Sandusky insists that he remains innocent of all charges. His refusal to budge on this stance has caused his lawyers to resort to some odd and seemingly desperate tactics. In March, their primary strategy was to get the case thrown out of court entirely, despite a preponderance of graphic evidence. Their arguments were viewed by legal experts as illogical, detached from reality and "just plain stupid." But on Tuesday, leveraging the statements provided to police by Matt, Jerry Sandusky had them embark on an even more bizarre path.

Previous Attempts to Dismiss the Case
On March 13, Joe Amendola struggled before Judge John Cleland as he pushed to dismiss all counts against Jerry Sandusky because of a "lack of specificity" in the gory details of the alleged rapes. Amendola argued before the court that "if the commonwealth can't be more specific, the defendant can't adequately present their [sic] defense." But Judge Cleland rebuffed Amendola's claim on two grounds: first, that additional details didn't exist because the victims were children at the time of the incidents; and second, because the more graphic the testimonies became, the more aroused Sandusky appeared in court.

As Amendola cross examined witnesses, it was Sandusky who disrupted the proceedings frequently by blurting out statements such as: "Ask for more, Joe. Make him show you on the doll. Oooh, that's the stuff. Right there, yeah. Then what happened when your towel dropped? You need to be more specific, kiddo."

Prior to that, in December 2011, Sandusky ordered his defense team to have all the alleged victims and eyewitnesses dismissed as unreliable. His proof? That the people testifying against him were all adults -- not children, as the case against him stated. Judge Cleland, more shocked than bemused, recessed the court immediately and dashed to his chambers. A transcription of the hearing showed the stenographer recording the "unmistakable" sounds of Judge Cleland "banging his head on his desk and cursing. This went on for 18 minutes."

At that same time, Sandusky, against his counsel's advice, tried to capitalize on this far-fetched reasoning in a public forum.

"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."

Defense attorneys also concentrated their efforts on discrediting witnesses such as 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.

Sandusky called McQueary's testimony "preposterous, a total fabrication."

"There's no way he saw anything," Sandusky blurted out as Amendola buried his face in his hands. "I made sure all the doors were locked."

Hal Kaplunski, a Pennsylvania copyright lawyer who believes Sandusky was framed, 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."

In Bizarre Turn, Sandusky Appeals for Lesser Charges of Prostitution
Fearing that Matt Sandusky's police interview could permanently destroy any chance of an appeal, Jerry Sandusky directed Amendola to take prompt action. In a meeting with Judge Cleland and the prosecution, Amendola apparently expressed that Jerry Sandusky was prepared to accuse his son Matt of prostitution, leaving himself guilty of only a lesser charge of soliciting services from a sex worker in this case.

One source privy to the closed door meeting said: "Joe Amendola's humiliation at promoting his client's frazzled thread of reasoning was clear. We all felt for the guy. Mr. Sandusky's new claim seemed to be that because he adopted Matt -- had in essence bought him, had paid for sex -- that Matt was the equivalent of a prostitute. And it followed, in Sandusky's colorfully alien world, that he would therefore face a lesser count of solicitation. Sandusky also attacked the adoption agency as 'a bunch of pimps pandering minors and profiting off human trafficking, but no one's doing anything about that.' He demanded the facility shut down and investigated. It was all very frustrating and kind of pathetic."

Penn State vs. State Pen
Jerry Sandusky remains incarcerated as the court ponders the new evidence. He was allowed to call his wife on Monday, but will not be permitted visitors until a psychiatric examination is completed. As a routine precaution, Sandusky remains on suicide watch. Those close to Joe Amendola are said to have put the embattled lawyer under similar observation.

The handful of guards who will talk to Sandusky describe him as a model prisoner.

One correctional officer said: "He's very polite and has already proven himself to be helpful. We noticed yesterday, during shower time, that he gravitated toward a group of our younger inmates. A lot of these kids are only 18. But he was trying to comfort and mentor them. He used to run a charity, and even in jail, he wants to help troubled young people salvage their lives. He wants to set up group sessions with them. We don't really have a lot of space for meetings, but Mr. Sandusky suggested that he could use the trailers we have for conjugal visits. Also, a lot of inmates here litter their walls with photos of swimsuit models, pinup girls, porn stars, you name it. It just makes them even more out of control. But Jerry, he just has a picture of The Little Rascals and some vintage copies of 'Boy's Life.' It's a nice change."

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