Jerry Sandusky’s lawyers want to put off accuser’s recantation hearing in a bid for a new trial

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Attorneys representing former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky requested Thursday to postpone a court hearing concerning an accuser's potential recantation of allegations that Sandusky sexually abused him in the past. The hearing was initially set for September 8, as part of Sandusky's ongoing efforts to obtain a new trial.

The judge in the case scheduled a status conference for Friday to discuss the matter with defense lawyers, who argued in a court filing that they first wish to appeal the judge's decision not to hear other claims beyond the recantation. Sandusky, now 82, has been incarcerated since his 2012 conviction on 45 counts of sexual abuse, following testimonies from eight young men who alleged abuse during their boyhoods.

Sandusky's lawyers contend that the supposed recantation is "highly suspect," citing factors such as suggestive questioning, coercive tactics, bias, and memory manipulation. The accuser, referred to as R.R. in court documents, claims he was extensively coached by authorities and assured that memory loss was common and expected. R.R. alleges that he was abused by Sandusky in 1998 when he was 11, in the coach's basement, and that Sandusky later apologized, claiming he loved him.