Jerry Sandusky’s Wife Could Testify in Trial

After his opening remarks, Judge John Cleland asked potential witnesses to leave the courtroom. When Jerry Sandusky’s wife, Dottie, walked out, the courtroom murmured. Will the wife of one of the most infamous alleged pedophiles testify? Maybe. She had arrived at 8:20 a.m., accompanied by about a dozen friends and family; she sat in the front row of the Centre County courtroom. Waiting, she chewed gum. Silent, except for a few whispers, her face was without expression, her eyes outlined in dark eye shadow.

And then, as if on cue: “Hey, Dottie,” her husband’s attorney Joe Amendola said in a loud whisper, pointing for her to make an exit. In his opening remarks to the jury that lasted about an hour, Philly-born prosecutor Joe McGettigan showed the faces of the 10 alleged victims on a projector screen—their faces from childhood. Later, in bold capital letters, he showed the words: humiliation, shame and fear = silence.

Cleland explained why he did not sequester the jury. “If as a community we can trust you to listen to the evidence and deliver a just verdict then we can trust you not to listen to the news,” he said.

Sandusky arrived in a gray suit. He wrote on a notepad when the faces of the alleged victims were displayed. Court broke for recess at the conclusion of McGettigan’s opening remarks.

Follow Kevin Cirilli @kevcirilli for Sandusky trial coverage.