Sandusky judge issues decisions on victims? names, use of Twitter

The judge in Jerry Sandusky’s child sexual abuse case says alleged victims can’t avoid disclosure of their names by testifying under pseudonyms, and is banning tweets and other electronic communications from inside the courtroom.

Judge John Cleland made those rulings and resolved a dispute over jury selection on Monday, a day before proceedings are scheduled to start in Bellefonte.

Cleland is denying a request by Sandusky’s lawyer to order the attorney general’s office to turn over information it’s collected about potential jurors. He says there isn’t enough evidence to warrant a hearing on the matter, and notes that prosecutors say they’re only doing what a diligent defense attorney would do.

The former Penn State assistant coach faces 52 charges he abused 10 boys over 15 years, allegations he denies.

Just last week, 6 News told you about Sandusky’s legal team making allegations that prosecutors were doing secret background check on the 600 names in the jury pool selected in Centre County.

Sandusky’s attorney asked Judge Cleland to order prosecutors to turn over the information gathered on prospective jurors.

With jury selection set to begin Tuesday, it will mark seven months since Jerry Sandusky walked into a magistrate’s office in handcuffs.

Sandusky has virtually remained out of prison since his arrest.

From the moment he was formally charged back on November 4^th, prosecutors have maintained this is a straight forward case, saying the evidence is very strong.

Sandusky’s attorneys have taken a far different viewpoint.  The maintain Sandusky’s innocence and are fighting prosecutors at every legal turn.

Sandusky was jailed briefly when additional charges were filed, but using their house as collateral, he was quickly bailed out by his wife.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.