Sandusky appeal focuses on conflicting statements in Day 2

A man who says he was the boy observed being sexually abused by Jerry Sandusky in a Penn State shower more than 15 years ago gave conflicting statements to authorities and was considered to lack credibility, investigators said during an appeal hearing Aug. 22.

The man has settled with Penn State based on a claim that he is Victim 2 and was seen by graduate assistant Mike McQueary being attacked by Sandusky, then an assistant football coach, in 2001. The man gave differing statements to Sandusky’s lawyers and to police investigators, according to testimony, and neither side called him to the stand during the 2012 trial.

The identity of Victim 2, and the man’s claim to be Victim 2, figures into Sandusky’s bid for a new trial or to have charges dismissed because of a reference during lead prosecutor Joe McGettigan’s closing argument before a jury convicted Sandusky of 45 counts of abuse involving 10 victims.

The man who claims to be Victim 2 contacted Sandusky’s then-lawyer, Joe Amendola, soon after Sandusky was first charged in November 2011 and gave a statement saying he was in the shower that night but had not been abused. He had also made a similar denial of abuse to investigators in September 2011, testified Cpl. Joseph Leiter, a retired state police investigator.

But he subsequently hired attorney Andrew Shubin, who testified Aug. 22 that he believes his client is Victim 2 and was raped by Sandusky, who was in court. He is serving a 30- to 60-year sentence.

Testimony on Aug. 22 also delved into claims of improper leaks of material from the grand jury that investigated Sandusky before he was charged. The hearing is expected to conclude Aug. 23.

Sandusky testified during the first day of the hearing and strongly denied his guilt. He has already lost direct appeals to the state’s Supreme and Superior courts and is now seeking relief under the Post-Conviction Relief Act that is confined to newly discovered evidence, constitutional violations and ineffective lawyering.

Olympics

MARATHON RUNNER WILL NOT FACE PROSECUTION » The Ethiopian marathon runner who made an anti-government gesture at the Rio Games while approaching the finish line will not face prosecution upon his return home and will have “a heroic welcome,” a government spokesman said Aug. 22.

Feyisa Lilesa told reporters on Aug. 21 that he may be killed or imprisoned if he ever goes back to the East African country. He called protesting inside Ethiopia “very dangerous.”

The silver medalist crossed his wrists in an attempt to draw global attention to deadly protests in his home region, Oromia. He told reporters that Ethiopia’s government is killing his people.

It was not immediately clear whether Lilesa plans to return. He told reporters that he would discuss the issue with family and friends.

The Oromo are Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group with about 40 million people. Their region has seen massive anti-government protests since November 2015 that activists say have left more than 400 dead.

The protests were ignited by the government’s decision to annex some Oromia land into the capital, Addis Ababa. The plan has been abandoned, but demonstrations calling for wider freedoms have continued.

Ethiopia’s government, a close security ally of the West, is often accused of silencing dissent, even blocking internet access at times.