Alleged victims tell jury their Sandusky stories

BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- As a 10-year-old boy, the man now known as Victim No. 5 was recommended to The Second Mile charity, not because he had a difficult home life, but because a school counselor thought it would be a good idea for him to socialize with people who spoke English, since his parents spoke Polish in their home.

He met Jerry Sandusky his first year at summer camp, in 1999, when the founder of the charity was in a skit playing the role of a Polish gangster, he testified at the child sexual-abuse trial in the Centre County Courthouse.

At the end of the show, the boy went up and introduced himself and told the then-Penn State defensive coordinator that he was Polish too.

That's how their friendship began. Over the next few seasons, Mr. Sandusky invited the boy to football games and outings, but unlike other alleged victims who have testified in this week's sexual abuse trial, this boy never slept over at the defendant's home.

Now 23, the young man recounted what he said was his only sexual experience with Mr. Sandusky, which was also the last time he saw him.

It was late summer in 2001, and the older man had called the boy to see if he'd like to go work out with him. They spent a few minutes on a treadmill and attempting chin-ups in a Penn State building before the coach said they needed to shower.

Mr. Sandusky first took the boy into the sauna in the Lasch football building. They got undressed and wrapped towels around themselves.

"He parted the towel and he sat back and exposed himself to me," the man said, remembering that it made him uncomfortable.

They then moved to the showers.

The boy took a shower head at the room's far end, but he said he could feel the defendant looking at him.

"I noticed [he] was enlarged, but I didn't understand the significance of it back then," he testified. "He started coming in my direction. He threw soap in my direction and started lathering my shoulders. I felt his body on my back.

"I kept lurching forward, but I didn't have any farther to go. I felt [his genitals] on my back."

He told the jury the defendant then placed the boy's hand on his genitals. The witness said he slid away and hurriedly left the shower. An angry Mr. Sandusky drove the boy home. They did not speak or make eye contact. He said he never spoke to Mr. Sandusky again.

That man's testimony differed significantly from that of the person identified as Victim No. 7 in the grand jury presentment. Mr. Sandusky is charged with molesting 10 boys over 15 years.

Now 27, that man said that even after he stopped doing things with Mr. Sandusky, he continued to request tickets for Penn State football games him until 2009.

That witness said he started at The Second Mile in 1995 at age 10 and continued to go to games with Mr. Sandusky until at least 2000.

He testified that he loved going to games and tolerated the man putting his hand on his knee to ensure he could continue.

The young man told the jury that a couple months after they began doing things together, the defendant took him to shower on Penn State's campus. He said the man tried to shampoo his hair and wash him, but the boy moved away.

He also said Mr. Sandusky came up behind him, pressing his naked front to the boy's naked back and gave him a bear hug, lifting him off the shower floor.

"I was kind of ashamed about it," he said. "I didn't want anyone to know. Probably most importantly, I didn't want my parents to keep me from going to games."

In all, he estimated showering with the defendant at least six times.

There was a point around 1997, the witness said, when Mr. Sandusky stopped calling him for outings.

On cross-examination by defense attorney Joe Amendola, the man said that he has hired a civil attorney with whom he's met 10 to 15 times. He has not paid the lawyer, who Mr. Amendola said is also representing another alleged victim.

The defense also presented the witness with inconsistencies between his testimony before the grand jury and in court Wednesday. During his previous testimony, the young man said he "didn't think" there had ever been any physical contact with the defendant in the shower.

He also told the grand jury that Mr. Sandusky never touched his genitals under his pants, but testified otherwise Wednesday. The witness tried to explain the inconsistencies by saying that he has been in counseling for the last year, and that it has triggered memories for him.

Mr. Amendola showed the witness an application for a scholarship he filled out with Second Mile in 2004. In it, he wrote, "Jerry Sandusky, he has changed my perceptions in life in a positive way. He is such a kind and caring gentleman, and I will never, ever forget him."

Earlier in the day, the man known as Victim No. 10, who came forward after the charges were initially filed against Mr. Sandusky, said the defendant performed a sex act on him in one of his first visits to his home.

The witness, who is now 25, said he and the defendant were wrestling in the basement when Mr. Sandusky pulled the boy's shorts down and began performing oral sex. The witness was 11 at the time.

"What did you do?" asked Senior Deputy Attorney General Joseph McGettigan.

"I freaked out, got scared."

The event lasted a couple minutes, he said. "He told me if I told anybody, I would never see my family again," the witness said. A short time later, Mr. Sandusky "apologized for saying that and told me he didn't mean it, and he loved me."

Ronald Petrosky, a custodian in the Lasch football building, was the last witness called on Wednesday.

He testified that one evening in the fall of 2000, when he entered the support staff locker room to clean the showers, he saw two pair of legs inside -- one hairy and one that looked like those of a small child.

He left the area to allow them to finish showering, and a short time later, Mr. Sandusky and a small boy walked out, with their hair wet.

"About three-quarters of the way down [the hall], Jerry took the boy's hand," Mr. Petrosky said.

A short time later, he said a fellow janitor came out. "I could see that he was upset. His face was white. His hands were trembling."

He said that man, Jim Calhoun, said, "I just witnessed something I'll never forget the rest of my life. He had this boy, with his hands against the wall, licking his privates."

According to the prosecution, Mr. Calhoun is unavailable to testify because he has dementia.

Testimony will continue today.

The Block News Alliance consists of The Blade and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Paula Reed Ward is a reporter for the Post-Gazette.

Contact Paula Reed Ward at: pward@post-gazette.com, or 412-263-2620.