Pa. Supreme Court declines to hear Sandusky’s appeal

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of Jerry

Sandusky, the former Penn State University assistant football coach doing a 30-to-60-year prison stretch for molesting 10 young boys.

In a one-sentence per curiam order issued Wednesday, the high court denied Sandusky’s petition for allowance of appeal, letting stand his conviction and sentence for child sexual abuse.

Sandusky, who at one time worked as the defensive coordinator for the Penn State Nittany Lions, was convicted on 45 counts of child sexual assault in the summer of 2012.

Sandusky at first appealed to the state’s Superior Court, a lower-tier appellate body, arguing that his defense team did not have enough time to go through all of the trial evidence and discovery material.

The Superior Court subsequently found against Sandusky, leaving his conviction and punishment intact.

Sandusky’s attorneys also argued that the trial judge should have instructed jurors about the length of time it took for his sexual abuse victims to come forward and report the crimes.

The office of Attorney General Kathleen Kane had urged the high court to not take up the appeal.

“We are very pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision,” Kane said in a statement to the Centre Daily Times, a central Pennsylvania newspaper. “Protecting Pennsylvania’s children is one of my top priorities and I remain committed to seeking justice for all victims of sexual abuse.”

According to media reports, Sandusky can still appeal his conviction under the Pennsylvania Post Conviction Relief Act, and he additionally has the option of taking his appeal to U.S. District Court.

It is unclear if his appellate lawyers are looking at either of those avenues.

Sandusky, 70, who is serving out his sentence at a state correctional institution in Greene County, which is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, founded The Second Mile, a charity for underprivileged youth.

Prosecutors maintained he groomed many of his underage victims at the organization.

His wife, Dottie Sandusky, maintains her husband’s innocence.

She went on national television this year to profess as much.