The trial of jerry sandusky: can prosecutors explain long gapbetween abuse and charges?

As the trial of Jerry Sandusky gets underway today in Bellefonte,Pa., the prosecution's case against the former Penn State assistantcoach could turn on its ability to explain the almost 15-year lapsebetween the alleged period of sexual abuse and today. While the lead prosecutor on Monday promised witnesses wouldprovide credible testimony, state law prohibits prosecutors fromputting experts on the stand to explain why victims of sexual abuseoften wait years before alerting the authorities. Mr. Sandusky, who is charged with abusing 10 boys over 15 years,faces 52 criminal counts related to the abuse. He says he is notguilty of the charges.

Eight of the alleged victims, who are now all adults, will testify,says Senior Deputy Attorney General Joseph McGettigan, the leadprosecutor in the case. In opening remarks Monday morning thatlasted 50 minutes, Mr. McGettigan said the majority of Sandusky svictims did not have fathers so became dependent on him through hischildren s charity, The Second Mile. McGettigan characterized the charity as the perfect environmentfor the predatory pedophile, and said Sandusky established apattern of grooming the victims through gifts and attention,followed by sexual abuse, some of which McGettigan said happened inthe on-campus facilities of the Penn State football team. Despite the nearly 15-year time window between today and whenvictims in the trial say their abuse took place, McGettigan saidthe witnesses would deliver credible testimony.

They are real people with real experience. You will know theywere violated, he said. The oldest victim is now 28. The time lapse in the Sandusky case is not uncommon, however itdoes provide the defense a greater opportunity to challenge thecredibility of the victims and to find corroborating evidence, saysRichard Frankel, a law professor at Drexel University s Earle MackSchool of Law in Philadelphia. Leather Dice Cup

The defense has to convince the jury why the alleged victimsdidn t come forward earlier if they could have, Mr. Frankel says.In doing so, they will drill down on the specific details of theallegations because the longer the time passes, the more memoriesthat are in the back of their head aren t recorded accurately, he says. Each alleged victim is expected to provide a reason why they waiteduntil last year to report the abuse. Jules Epstein, a law professorat the Widener University School of Law in Chester, Pa., says it is certainly not unheard of in child abuse cases for victims towait until they are adults to say they were abused. China Custom Printed Dice

Mr. Epsteinsays there are many reasons why, but the most common is that theabuse is sometimes done in the guise of love so victimsremained unaware that it was wrong. Other common reasons are shame and the fear of retaliation by theabuser. State law forbids testimony from experts, like a psychologist or asocial worker, to give jurors these reasons directly. Epstein saysit is too soon to tell if that omission will harm theprosecution s case. China Leather Coaster

It depends on the knowledge of each of the 12 jurors. If they get[why victims often wait], then it s no harm, no foul, he says. But if they truly don t get it and are thinking, If thishappened to me, I d be shouting from the rooftops, then it s aproblem. Another area for the defense to explore is to determine if any ofthe victims are motivated by money, or if their background ahistory of drug or alcohol abuse, for example suggests theycan t be trusted.

In his opening statement Monday, defense attorney Joseph Amendolapointed out that several of the witnesses have their own lawyersand one has filed a civil complaint, suggesting they have ulteriormotives beyond bringing Sandusky to justice. It is rare, it is absolutely, totally unusual for an allegedvictim to have an attorney beside them, representing them theseyoung men have a financial interest, Mr. Amendola said. The civil complaint is pending until a verdict in the criminal caseis reached.

Many witnesses besides the alleged victims are expected to take thestand for the prosecution, McGettigan said. They include formerSecond Mile employees, experts with children s service agencies,and Mike McQueary, the former Penn State assistant coach who sayshe witnessed Sandusky raping a boy in the team s shower facilitiesin February 2001. McGettigan told jurors they would also view hard evidence that willdetermine Sandusky s predatory scheming, such as love letters tothe victims from Sandusky and a list of Second Mile children withnotations about what they looked like and if they had parents. Theprosecution is also allowed to use media interviews Sandusky gavesince his November 2011 arrest.

When asked by Bob Costas of NBC ifhe was sexually attracted to young boys, Sandusky said, I enjoyyoung people. I love to be around them. But no, I m not sexuallyattracted to young boys.

Halibut bycatch reduction approved for gulf, starting in 2014 - 1080p Car DVR - HD720p Car Black Box

A hard fought battle by stakeholders of Alaska s halibut resourceto limit the incidental harvest of the prized fish is taking a stepforward, in a move calculated by federal fisheries managers to giveGulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries time to adjust. The action before the North Pacific Fishery Management Council atKodiak at June 8 came after extensive testimony mostly for, butalso against putting in place a 15 percent reduction in the tons ofhalibut taken annually in Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries.Under the motion passed by a 10-1 vote, the bycatch reduction willbe phased in at 7 percent in 2014, then 5 percent in 2015 and 3percent in 2016. More than 1,500 people signed onto a letter asking the council forthe reduction in the bycatch quota, particularly in the face ofdeclining halibut stocks and a decline in the average size of thesucculent flatfish. The motion approved a 15 percent reduction in bycatch in the trawland hook and line gear in the catcher vessel fleet, plus a 7percent reduction in bycatch in the freezer-longliner catcherprocessor boats. Jonathan Warrenchuk, an ocean scientist with Oceana, a conservationgroup dedicated to protection of the world s oceans, said thephased in approach was a bit of a surprise.

It is pretty clear,this is just a Band Aid, he said. The halibut resource lookslike it is in trouble and managers are making big cuts, but thecuts were needed now. They weren t even considering a large numberto begin with. This is too much of a compromise.

Still, Warrenchuk calculated that when fully in place in 2016, theaction would result in a reduction of over 300 metric tons ofhalibut annually. Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska LonglineFishermen s Association in Sitka, and a long time advocate ofsharing the responsibility of resource sustainability among thestakeholders, thanked the council for taking meaningful action toprotect our halibut resource. Behnken said she was speaking onbehalf of the longliner association, and the more than 1,500 sport,commercial, subsistence harvesters and other halibut users inAlaska who called for reducing the waste. What we are saying is that at this point it is important toreduce exploitation on the stocks by all users to protect thatrebuilding potential of the stock, she said. Behnken reminded the council that in the late 1980s, when theprevious halibut bycatch allowance was determined for Gulf ofAlaska groundfish fisheries, that the commercial catch limit was 69million pounds. HD720p Car Black Box

By 2012, the International Pacific HalibutCommission had, in a series of conservation efforts of its own,lowered the allowable commercial catch to 34 million pounds. Fifteen percent is a reasonable compromise, she said. This action will help protect the health of the halibutpopulation and the jobs of thousands of commercial and charterhalibut fishermen in our coastal communities who rely on halibut, said Theresa Peterson, a fish harvester and Kodiak outreachcoordinator for the Alaska Marine Conservation Council. Weapplaud the council for taking this important first step and welook forward to the future action by fishery managers to furtherlimit bycatch for the long-term health of the halibut resource, she said. 1080p Car DVR

The council, said Alaska Commissioner of Fish and Game CoraCampbell, is moving to minimize bycatch to the extent practicablegiven the situation the fleet is in now. The phased cutback inbycatch limits is to provide time for the gulf groundfish industryto adjust to the reductions, she said. Council chairman Eric Olson said the phased bycatch reduction wouldhelp incrementally but that tools needed to be developed to helpthe fleet deal with less halibut and he hoped that discussion wouldbegin quickly. Julie Bonney, executive director of the Alaska Groundfish Data Bankin Kodiak , proposed a five year research plan to find out what iscausing the decline in the halibut biomass and size of the halibut.She urged the council to refrain from bycatch reductions until thematter had been studied further and tools developed to reduce thebycatch. HD720p Car Black Box

Making a big cut on the trawl side is not going to increase theproductivity of halibut stocks, she said. The council also heard proposed amendments from its own membershipto reduce the bycatch limits and to increase the phased inapproach. Council member John Henderschedt, of, Seattle, proposed reducingthe bycatch limit by 12 percent, rather than 15 percent, whilecouncil member Bill Tweit, of the Washington Department of Fish andWildlife offered an amendment to the motion to stretch the phasedin reduction in halibut bycatch limits to four years, in order toallow more time to develop tools to help reduce the bycatch. Both amendments failed.

The trawl fisheries have been under fire for decades because of thehuge nets they use, which catch many fish other than those they aretargeting. By the time those fish are dumped back into the ocean,their mortality rate is negligible. National standards for fishery conservation and management set downa number of mandates for fisheries managers to follow in allfishery management plans and any regulations promulgated toimplement such plans. Much mention at the Kodiak meeting was made of these nationalstandards, particularly national standards 1, 8 and 9. The firstdirects that conservation and management measures preventoverfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimumyield from each fishery for the fishing industry.

National Standard 8 directs that conservation and managementmeasures must take into account the importance of fishery resourcesto fishing communities and minimize adverse economic impacts onsuch communities. National Standard 9 dictates that conservation and managementmeasures shall, to the extent practicable, minimize bycatch and tothe extent bycatch cannot be avoided, minimize the mortality ofsuch bycatch. People have waited decades for responsive action, saidKodiak s Peterson. Thirty-five communities in Alaska are calling for action here. Wedo not have the luxury to sit back and do nothing at this time.

You can reach Margaret Bauman with comments and suggestions at mbauman@thecordovatimes.com.