BELLEFONTE -- Jerry Sandusky's wife, Dottie, told a Centre County jury on Tuesday that she never hear a child yell for help in the couple's home, as claimed by several of the alleged victims in the child sex abuse case.
She said she often went to the basement, where some of the assaults allegedly occurred, for various reasons.
Dottie Sandusky described Victim 4 as having "problems": He was very demanding and conniving who wanted his his way and didn't listen a lot. Victim 9 was "a charmer" who knew what to say and when to say it, she said.
She said she never saw her husband do anything inappropriate with the children.
Dr. Elliott Atkins, a forensic and clinical psychologist, testified that after a six-hour interview with Sandusky and one hour with Dottie Sandusky, along with a review of the transcript of the grand jury testimony, he was able to conclude using diagnostic tools that Sandusky suffers from histrionic personality disorder.
Senior Judge John Cleland made it clear to the jury that Atkins' testimony was from an expert witness whose testimony could only apply to the letters sent to a victim, not to any of the defendants' actions.
Defense attorney Karl Rominger pointed out that Atkins' testimony was important to show that the letters sent to Victim 4 were not "creepy love letters," as Victim 4 testified last week, but were actually the product of this disorder, which is marked by overemotional responses, the need for attention and a tendency to be critical of people when they don't reciprocate.
Atkins said a prosecution psychologist disagreed with his finding, and he admitted under cross-examination that Sandusky didn't meet the criteria for the disorder after one of the tests he administered.
The prosecution witness, who is actually a psychiatrist, testified that Sandusky did not meet the profile of someone with the disorder.
Dr. Jonathan O'Brien offered his opinion after he said he interviewed Sandusky, reviewed case materials and Atkins' report.
Sandusky was too high-functioning for a person who generally has the disorder, O'Brien said. He has a master's degree, was a nationally known college football coach and ran a multi-million dollar charity.
Sandusky is facing 51 charges in his trial in Centre County Court.
Earlier today, Rominger and defense attorney Joe Amendola and Karl Rominger presented a tape of an interview with Victim 4 that was recorded in the Rockview state police barracks by Cpl. Joe Leiter and Cpl. Scott Rossman.
During that interview, the tape was mistakenly left on when Victim 4 was given a break. The recording continued with a discussion between Leiter and Victim 4's attorney, Benjamin Andreozzi of Harrisburg, when Leiter revealed to Andreozzi that at least nine other victims were cooperating with police and that in at least two cases they talked about oral and anal sex.
The defense is trying to persuade the jury that by doing this, the police planted the seeds of what they wanted to show that Sandusky did.
Prosecutor Joseph McGettigan tried to point out that there was no discussion between Victim 4 and Andreozzi afterward, so Andreozzi could not share what he was told by the state police before the interview resumed.
As the defense moves forward on its part of the case, every chair in the courtroom is now filled, where earlier this week there were empty seats in the section reserved for the public.
Earlier this morning, Amendola called several character witnesses for Jerry Sandusky, including neighbors, friends, former Second Mile participants and even former Penn State linebacker Lance Mehl, who went on to play for the New York Jets for eight years.
The witnesses all said that Sandusky enjoyed a good reputation in the community and that they still stood behind him.
Amendola also put Rossman and Leiter on the stand, the two state troopers who interviewed scores of potential accusers and a majority of the ones who testified last week.
Mirror reporters will update this story throughout the day's testimony.
