Sandusky accuser asks to limit questioning, protect identity

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A man who claims he told Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in 1976 that he was sexually abused as a teen by Jerry Sandusky asked a judge Wednesday to protect his identity and limit questioning by lawyers in a lawsuit brought by Paterno’s family against college sports’ governing body.

Lawyers for the man called John Doe 150 said he gave a sworn deposition in October 2014 in a related case, brought by Penn State against its insurer over coverage for Sandusky-related claims, and that he should not have to endure another one.

He previously testified under oath about his abuse claims “and his reporting of the abuse to Coach Joseph Paterno and Penn State,” his lawyers told Judge John Leete, who is presiding in the Paternos’ lawsuit against the NCAA.

“Forcing John Doe 150 to sit through yet another deposition is not only duplicative, unnecessary and unduly burdensome, but it would force this victim of childhood sexual abuse to, again, relive the trauma of his abuse,” his lawyers wrote. They said he settled with Penn State in 2013 and has kept his abuse a secret from those closest to him.

They alleged the abuse occurred when the man was a 14-year-old participant at a Penn State football camp but disclosed no other details.

Paterno, who died in 2012, said in an interview before his death that an assistant’s report in 2001 of Sandusky attacking a boy in a team shower at the State College campus was the first he knew of such allegations against his longtime top assistant.

Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant football coach, was convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and is serving a sentence of 30 to 60 years in prison. He maintains his innocence and is pursuing an appeal.

John Doe 150’s lawyer, Slade McLaughlin, said in a phone interview Wednesday that his client was concerned about “nuts” harassing him over his role in the scandal, which has generated strong feelings.

“Some of these people are really over the top and some of these people are militant, and some of these people, in my mind, are terrorists,” McLaughlin said.

The filing comes two days after Penn State asked the judge to reject a subpoena from the NCAA in the Paterno family lawsuit, seeking the man’s name and the identity of a Sandusky accuser who made a confidential settlement with the school over claims he was abused as a boy by Sandusky in 1971.

Penn State said neither settlement agreement contains specifics about either man’s claims.

In May, the judge in the insurance dispute being litigated in Philadelphia said in a written opinion that there was a claim that Paterno was informed by a boy in 1976 that Sandusky had abused him. The school subsequently also confirmed it had settled over a 1971 allegation.

The judge has since decided to disclose more information about the two claims, details that are expected to be made public in about three weeks.

The Paternos are suing the NCAA, saying it used a Penn State-commissioned report that harmed their commercial interests. Two former Penn State coaches, Jay Paterno and Bill Kenney, are also suing the NCAA, saying the report made it impossible for them to find comparable work.