Ex-Penn State Coach Sandusky Will Have June Trial Instead of May

The trial of former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky on sex- abuse charges was rescheduled for June 5 by a judge who said “logistical contingencies” required a postponement.

State court Judge John M. Cleland set the new date in a ruling yesterday. He previously scheduled the trial to begin May 14.

Sandusky is charged with more than 50 counts tied to the alleged abuse of boys he met through a charity he founded for needy children. He asked Cleland in court papers last week to dismiss the charges against him, arguing that the allegations weren’t specific, lacked sufficient evidence or were too old. A hearing on his request is scheduled for April 5 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

Prosecutors argued in court papers filed yesterday that Sandusky’s requests were little more than “tactical maneuvers.” Pennsylvania’s Superior Court has held that the state doesn’t always need to prove a specific date of an alleged crime, Chief Deputy Attorney General Frank Fina wrote in the filing.

Sandusky, who has repeatedly denied the accusations, waived a preliminary hearing in December.

He “cannot now be heard to complain the information is insufficient having conceded the ability of the commonwealth to prove each count if submitted to a fact finder,” Fina said in the filing.

Prosecutors agreed with Sandusky’s request to sequester potential jurors during a two-week selection process, as well as the jury during the trial.

The case is Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Sandusky, CP-14-2422-2011, Court of Common Pleas, Centre County, Pennsylvania (Bellefonte).

To contact the reporter on this story: Sophia Pearson in Philadelphia at spearson3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net