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Matt Sandusky described abuse by Jerry Sandusky to police on tape NBC obtained
Matt Sandusky told police that his adoptive father, Jerry Sandusky, molested him, rubbing him in bed.
NBC obtained a recording of a police interview with Matt Sandusky, whom prosecutors planned to call as a witness. Segments of the interview are on the Web.
"If you were pretending you were asleep and you were touched or rubbed in some way, you could just act like you were rolling over in your sleep so you could change positions,” Matt Sandusky said.
A foster child of the Sanduskys, Matt was eventually adopted by them.
Matt Sandusky's attorneys, Andrew Shubin and Justine Andronici, released the following statement today:
"This tape demonstrates Matt's tremendous courage and strength as he begins to disclose that Jerry Sandusky sexually abused him when he was a child," Shubin and Andronici said in a joint statement. "Although the tape was released without Matt's knowledge or permission, it illustrates that he made the difficult decision to come forward and tell the painful truth to investigators despite extraordinary pressure to support his father."
The possibility of Matt Sandusky taking the witness stand kept Jerry Sandusky from testifying in his own defense, according to the former coach's defense attorneys.
Sandusky attorney Joe Amendola said after the verdict that even though Sandusky denies ever sexually abusing his son Matt, if Matt Sandusky had testified “it would have been explosive.”
“We determined there was no way for Jerry to testify that they would not call Matt at rebuttal, and with Matt involved in this courtroom, we thought whatever chance, small chance, Jerry might have would be out the window,” Amendola said.
Sandusky and other members of the family dispute what Matt Sandusky is saying, Amendola said.
Matt Sandusky had testified before the grand jury, denying abuse had taken place.
In the police interview NBC obtained, he said he is coming forward now, “So that they can really have closure and see what the truth actually is. And just to right the wrong, honestly, of going to the grand jury and lying.”
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