Jury Selection Begins in Former Penn State Coach’s Sex Abuse Trial

Posted June 5th, 2012 at 11:15 am (UTC-5)
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Jury selection has begun in the child sex abuse trial of former U.S. college football coach Jerry Sandusky.

The retired Pennsylvania State University assistant coach faces 52 counts of sexual abuse for allegedly molesting 10 boys over 15 years. Prosecutors say the 68-year-old Sandusky met many of his accusers through a charity he founded for troubled kids.

He has repeatedly denied the charges.

Sandusky arrived at the court Tuesday morning with his lawyer. Neither spoke to reporters.

The process of selecting a 12-person jury from a pool of more than 200 candidates is expected to take days.

The allegations against Sandusky sent shock waves through the Penn State community and across the country when they surfaced last November. The scandal led to the firing of iconic Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier.

Paterno, who died of lung cancer earlier this year, was fired for failing to take tougher action after a graduate assistant told him he saw Sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in locker room shower. Paterno was criticized for not informing outside authorities about the incident, although he informed the school's athletic director and a university vice president.