BELLEFONTE - The prosecution certainly didn't take long to establish its case in the Jerry Sandusky trial.
I thought the commonwealth's lead prosecutor, Senior Deputy Attorney General Joseph McGettigan, did an effective job in addressing why it took so long for the accusers to report these allegations to anybody.
I also thought using the age-relevant pictures of the known accusers was effective because it personalizes the victims - and his message is about kids.
The message of "Humiliation + Shame + Fear = Silence" worked well.
From the defense perspective, Joe Amendola characterized these activities as horseplay, and that's not new: He's been referring to them that way, rather than criminal allegations, the entire time.
In his opening statement, in asking why these accusers are coming forward now, Amendola is using the only thing he has - that they're coming forward for financial gain.
I was a bit surprised when motions were filed Monday morning concerning Sandusky's book, "Touched."
These motions are designed to get a judge's ruling on evidence that might come in before a jury hears it.
If McGettigan wanted some selected information from Sandusky's book (Amendola countered that the entire book should then be admitted into evidence, and not just excerpts), that could prejudice the jury.
I was just surprised the motions weren't filed before because the issue could have been anticipated by the defense and, frankly, based on what I know about the judge (John Cleland), he probably would have preferred to have it days ago rather than the morning of the trial.
Victim 4's testimony was graphic, but I wasn't surprised because I had read the grand jury presentment. The one very surprising allegation was that Dottie actually saw Sandusky and Victim 4 in a hotel room. The fact that she is being considered as a witness - which is why she was sequestered prior to opening statements - tells me that she probably will be called as a witness by the defense and that McGettigan didn't want her to hear Victim 4's testimony.
Amendola said Monday that Sandusky himself might testify, but that's a decision that will be made after the commonwealth completes its case.
Local attorney Robert Donaldson will be commenting on the Jerry Sandusky trial for the Mirror.
