BELLEFONTE, Penn. (CNN) — The jury considering the fate of Jerry Sandusky reconvened Friday for a second day of deliberations.
Jurors deliberated until about 9:30 p.m. Thursday before breaking off, and began reviewing testimony from two witnesses when they resumed their duties Friday morning.
The former Penn State assistant football coach is charged with dozens of counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 alleged victims over a 15-year period.
The case went to the jury as new revelations came to light.
Matt Sandusky, one of six adopted children of Jerry Sandusky, 68, said through his attorney Thursday that he was sexually abused by the former Penn State assistant football coach, adding that he had been prepared to testify against him.
The new accusation could lead to additional charges, including incest, even though he is adopted, according to Marci Hamilton, a Cardozo Law School professor who has represented victims and written on sexual abuse cases.
“At Matt’s request, we immediately arranged a meeting between him and the prosecutors and investigators,” attorneys Andrew Shubin and Justine Andronici said in a statement. “This has been an extremely painful experience for Matt, and he has asked us to convey his request that the media respect his privacy.”
The jurors decide Jerry Sandusky’s fate without having heard from the former Penn State defensive coordinator on the witness stand.
During closing arguments, his defense sought to poke holes in the prosecution’s case, pointing to inconsistencies with the testimony of Mike McQueary, a former graduate student and assistant coach who said he saw Sandusky apparently sodomizing a boy in a university shower.
Defense attorney Joe Amendola reminded jurors of the lack of physical evidence in the case. He accused the alleged victims of conspiring for financial gain while blaming the media for what he described as biased coverage.
During the arguments, Sandusky’s wife, Dottie, quietly wept.
Lead prosecutor Joseph McGettigan rebuffed the defense’s account of a coordinated action among Sandusky’s accusers allegedly bent on financial windfall.
“The commonwealth has overwhelming evidence against Mr. Sandusky,” he said.
Judge John Cleland announced that three of the counts were dropped against the former coach, bringing the total number of charges to 48.
He told jurors that all three counts pertain to “alleged victim 4,” while the defense further petitioned to have all counts related to “alleged victim 8” dismissed as well.
Cleland said one count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse duplicated another charge. Two other counts — one of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and another of aggravated indecent assault — were not supported by testimony and the evidence presented, Cleland found.
Prosecutors dropped one of the original 52 counts earlier this week because the statute on which that charge was based wasn’t in effect on the date of the alleged incident.
Dr. Elliot Atkins testified that he diagnosed Sandusky with histrionic personality disorder, part of a class of conditions called dramatic personality disorders that are marked by unstable emotions and distorted self-images. But a second psychologist, prosecution witness Dr. John O’Brien, disputed those findings, saying that the “personality profile Mr. Sandusky exhibited was within normal limits.”
Some court observers had said that if Sandusky were to testify, prosecutors could submit as new evidence a TV interview the ex-coach had with NBC sportscaster Bob Costas.
Matt Sandusky’s name came up during testimony from one of the alleged victims.
The accuser talked about what occurred after he played racquetball once with Jerry and Matt Sandusky.
“Matt went into the shower, and then me and Jerry came in … he started pumping his hand full of soap, like he was going to throw it. Matt got out … he went to another shower [area].”
According to some alleged victims, Jerry Sandusky would often use shower “soap fights” as a prelude to inappropriate sexual contact.
In his 2001 autobiography, “Touched,” Jerry Sandusky wrote about his relationship with Matt Sandusky, whom he met through Second Mile when the youth was 7 or 8.
Sandusky detailed the youth’s discipline problems and struggles, ultimately becoming close to his new family.
Meanwhile, a man who claims he was repeatedly sexually abused by Sandusky while a child spoke out Thursday.
“He (once) told me if I ever said anything that nobody was going to believe me and he would get my dad fired from Penn State,” Travis Weaver, 30, told NBC’s “Rock Center with Brian Williams.”
Weaver did not testify in Sandusky’s trial, but filed a civil action against the former coach.
CNN’s Susan Candiotti, Ross Levitt, Jason Carroll, Dana Garrett, Laura Dolan and In Session’s Michael Christian and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report.
