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Jerry Sandusky’s (l.) new lawyer tells local TV station the former Penn State coach was teaching boys how to put soap on their bodies.
Jerry Sandusky showered with boys to teach basic hygiene, says lawyer who joins gaffe-prone defense team
Lawyer: 'Some of these kids don't have basic hygiene skills'BY Michael O'keeffe
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Read more: Jerry Sandusky showered with boys to teach basic hygiene, says lawyer who joins gaffe-prone defense team - NY Daily News
Maybe Jerry Sandusky's lawyers should stop talking to the press for a while.
Karl Rominger, a Carlisle, Pa., lawyer who recently joined the accused child molester's defense team, says Sandusky may have showered with boys to teach them "basic hygiene skills."
"Some of these kids don't have basic hygiene skills," Rominger told WHTM-TV on Tuesday. "Teaching a person to shower at the age of 12 or 14 sounds strange to some people, but people who work with troubled youth will tell you there are a lot of juvenile delinquents and people who are dependent who have to be taught basic life skills like how to put soap on their body."
Sandusky, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno's longtime defensive coordinator, has been charged with 52 counts of sexual abuse. He is accused of molesting 10 boys he met through The Second Mile, a charity he founded for underprivileged kids. A grand jury report released last month says Mike McQueary, now Penn State's receivers coach, saw Sandusky rape a boy in a campus shower. In interviews with NBC's Bob Costas and The New York Times Sandusky admitted showering and engaging in horseplay with boys in Penn State locker rooms, but said nothing sexual had occurred.
Joe Amendola, Sandusky's lead attorney, has been criticized by legal experts for allowing his client to speak to the media because his statements could later be used by prosecutors. He fumbled this week after Sandusky waived his right to a preliminary hearing by telling reporters that anybody who believed the grand jury report should dial "1-800-REALITY." The number, as first reported by Deadspin, is for a gay sex line that boasts it is "the hottest place for triple-X action."
Rominger said he was OK with Sandusky's decision to talk to the media, but acknowledged that his client did not come across very well.
"The problem is if you're an innocent person who's not articulate, you're not going to come across well, but you're still innocent," Rominger said. "A guilty person who is very articulate might come across innocent. So it's not a fair fight."
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