www.midstatelaw.comIn the early hours of December 13, 2011, Victim #4 was in a holding area with his attorneys, Ben Andreozzi and Jeff Fritz. He was informed that he would be the first witness called by the prosecution and waited for approximately 45 minutes to be transported to the courthouse. At approximately 8:35 a.m. he learned that the hearing was waived. Victim #4 then prepared a handwritten message which was eventually read by his counsel, Ben Andreozzi outside of the Centre County Courthouse. The message read:
"This is the most difficult time of my life, both physically and mentally. I can't believe they put us through this until the last second only to waive the hearing. I want to thank all the people who have shown support. Regardless of the decision to waive the hearing, nothing has changed. I will still stand my ground, testify and speak the truth."
Jerry Sandusky's legal team seized the captive media attention outside of the courtroom and used this as an opportunity to try their case to the public. This raises the question of why the defense elected to waive the hearing at such a late time? Given the defense tactics thus far it would not be surprising to learn that they were trying to intimidate the witnesses and hope that they would be reluctant to testify. Once they learned that the witnesses would not be bullied they pounced on the captive audience.
Clearly the defense did not want to conduct a preliminary hearing if Victim #4 were to testify. This testimony would have been incredibly damning to the defense and would undermine the defenses feeble efforts to manipulate the general public through the media, which was on display for one hour outside of the Centre County Courthouse.
Attorney Benjamin D. Andreozzi has represented clients from across the country in various high profile civil sexual abuse cases. He has been interviewed and appeared on media outlets such as the Today Show, Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, ABC World News, CBS Evening News, Anderson Cooper, etc. Unlike many other attorneys who handle a variety of personal injury cases, Mr. Andreozzi's practice is focused on representing sexual assault victims in civil cases. If you or someone you know is in need of help as a result of sexual abuse, you may call 717-525-9124 and speak directly with Mr. Andreozzi..
