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Attorney: Sandusky might have been teaching kids hygiene
A new lawyer on Jerry Sandusky's legal team offered up an interesting possible explanation for the former Penn State defensive coordinator's habits of showering with young boys.
"Some of these kids don't have basic hygiene skills," attorney Karl Rominger, who recently joined Sandusky's defense team, told Harrisburg's abc27 News Tuesday. "Teaching a person to shower at the age of 12 or 14 sounds strange to some people, but people who work with troubled youth will tell you there are a lot of juvenile delinquents and people who are dependent who have to be taught basic life skills, like how to put soap on their body."
Sandusky has admitted to showering with boys, but claims he has not sexually abused them. Rominger said his college cross country coach often showered with the team.
He also said he does not disagree with Sandusky's decision to talk to the media, though he thinks his client could have come across a little better.
Rominger also said the grand jury report has raised credibility issues, most significantly with assistant football coach Mike McQueary's testimony. In the grand jury report, McQueary said he saw Sandusky sexually assaulting a young boy in a shower in 2002. Recent reports from a McQueary family friend have contradicted that, saying he didn't actually see any sexual acts.
"They (the grand jury) said McQueary's highly credible," Rominger said. "We now know that's not true. And I guarantee you you're going to see other parts of that presentment that are not true."
On Tuesday, Sandusky waived his preliminary hearing, claiming he is not guilty and will "fight for four quarters" when the actual trial begins.
Sandusky, 67, faces 52 criminal counts for what a grand jury called a series of sexual assaults and abuse of 10 boys dating back to the 1990s.
UPDATE 3:48 pm.: Rominger released a statement Thursday, suggesting his comments were taken out of context.
Rominger's statement:
When answering why a person might be in a shower with a youth, I proposed one hypothetical, such as an adult leading by example and encouraging a youth with bad or poor hygiene to shower regularly.
Some commentators have argued that I am saying that Mr. Sandusky showered with youths and touched them inappropriately for the purpose of teaching them how to shower. That is not what I said.
First, there's no evidence of inappropriate touching in a shower, except for discredited statements from the grand jury presentment. Further, Jerry has maintained his innocence and denies any sexual touching or inappropriate touching in the shower.
Therefore, I would like to clarify that I am not suggesting that this is what happened in this case, but was answering questions about possible motivations an individual might have for an adult to shower with a juvenile.
Source: USA Today
Some commentators have argued that I am saying that Mr. Sandusky showered with youths and touched them inappropriately for the purpose of teaching them how to shower. That is not what I said.
First, there's no evidence of inappropriate touching in a shower, except for discredited statements from the grand jury presentment. Further, Jerry has maintained his innocence and denies any sexual touching or inappropriate touching in the shower.
Therefore, I would like to clarify that I am not suggesting that this is what happened in this case, but was answering questions about possible motivations an individual might have for an adult to shower with a juvenile.