Attorneys for convicted child sexual abuser Jerry Sandusky are again trying to hunt down a report that might not even exist.
It has been confirmed that special prosecutors James Reeder and Kenneth Brown were appointed by grand jury judge Barry Feudale to investigate leaks in the Sandusky grand jury.
What remains unclear is whether or not Reeder and Brown ever completed a report as mandated by Feudale on their findings, as Feudale was removed from his seat as the presiding grand jury judge before the six-month investigation was finished.
Following judge John Cleland’s suggestion that Sandusky attorney Alexander Lindsay petition the current presiding grand jury judge — Norman A. Krumenaker — on this matter, Lindsay filed a petition for the release of the mysterious Reeder-Brown Report on Wednesday.
In his filing, Lindsay asked for subpoena power to obtain the report regarding leaks from the grand jury that ultimately recommended charges be filed against Sandusky.
“Sandusky claims that such abuses, including the leak of grand jury information in his case entitles him to extraordinary remedy: dismissal of all criminal charges pertaining to the victims who were identified after the details of his investigation were published by the media,” Lindsay wrote.
“Sandusky requests the court to craft an exclusionary rule that bars the commonwealth from utilizing the testimony of any witnesses who happened to come forward in the wake of a breach of grand jury secrecy,” Lindsay added.
For the first time since Lindsay began trying to track down this report, he recognized the possibility that the report doesn’t even exist, citing the fact that Feudale — who commissioned the investigation — was removed as grand jury judge before Reeder and Brown completed their investigation.
In that case, Lindsay is asking that Krumenaker appoint a special prosecutor to finish what Reeder and Brown may not have, in what is essentially an attempt to prove that the grand jury was tainted and charges that stemmed from it should be dropped.
If the court determines that Reeder and Brown did not fulfill the mandate of Judge Feudale’s order “contending that it is indisputable that there are colorable allegations or indications that the sanctity of the grand jury process has been breached and those allegation warrant investigation,” Lindsay is asking for the appointment of a special prosecutor to conduct such an investigation.
Judge Cleland wasn’t willing to take the steps that Lindsay is asking for in this petition, primarily because this is a matter of the grand jury, which has its own presiding judge. It now lies in the hands of Krumenaker to determine how to proceed with this matter.
