BELLEFONTE, Pa. — Jerry Sandusky’s trial in the Penn State scandal opened in graphic fashion Monday with the first witness testifying that the retired coach molested him in the locker-room showers and in hotels while trying to ensure his silence with gifts and trips to bowl games.
Penn State trial opens
with graphic testimony
BELLEFONTE, Pa. — Jerry Sandusky’s trial in the Penn State scandal opened in graphic fashion Monday with the first witness testifying that the retired coach molested him in the locker-room showers and in hotels while trying to ensure his silence with gifts and trips to bowl games.
The man, now 28 and dubbed Victim 4 in court papers, left nothing to the imagination as he told the jury about the abuse he said he endured for five years beginning when he was a teenager in the late 1990s.
“I’ve denied it forever,” he testified, looking straight at the prosecutor as Sandusky sat motionless nearby.
Sandusky, 68, faces 52 counts that he sexually abused 10 boys over 15 years. The former assistant football coach has denied the allegations. His arrest last year shamed the university and led to the ouster of beloved Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno and Penn State’s president.
In opening statements, prosecutor Joseph McGettigan III told the jury that Sandusky was a “predatory pedophile” who methodically used his youth charity, The Second Mile, to zero in on fatherless children or those with unstable home lives, plied them with gifts and took advantage of them sexually.
Sandusky lawyer Joe Amendola countered that the allegations are flimsy and that some of the accusers apparently intend to sue and have a financial stake in the outcome — a preview of the battle to come as the defense tries to undermine the credibility of the young men upon whom the prosecution’s case rests.
Until Monday, none of them had testified publicly, and their identities were shielded. The Associated Press typically doesn’t identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes.
Construction worker dies
after fall at World Cup venue
BRASILIA, Brazil — Authorities say a 21-year-old worker helping build a World Cup stadium in Brazil died after a fall of 100 feet at the construction site.
The local government said Jose Afonso de Oliveira Rodrigues died Monday while working at the World Cup venue in the capital Brasilia.
The government said the companies in charge of the construction of the 70,000-capacity Mane Garrincha stadium were investigating the cause of the accident and giving support to the worker’s family. The companies told local media that Rodrigues appeared to be wearing his safety equipment at the time of the accident.
Brasilia will host three matches in next year’s Confederations Cup and seven in the World Cup, the first in Brazil since 1950.
Kohlschreiber begins
Halle title defense with win
HALLE, Germany — Philipp Kohlschreiber began the defense of his Gerry Weber Open title with a win over wild card Dustin Brown in an all-German matchup Monday.
The 163rd-ranked Brown twice pushed Kohlschreiber to a tiebreaker before the eighth-seeded defending champion won 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) in 1 hour, 23 minutes.
Canada’s Milos Raonic, the other seeded player in action on the opening day of the grass-court tournament, defeated last year’s runner-up, Philipp Petzschner. The fifth-seeded Raonic had 19 aces to beat the German 7-5, 7-6 (1), setting up a second-round match with Ze Zhang of China, who beat another German, Tobias Kamke, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Kohlschreiber will face Lukas Kubot after the Pole beat Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-4, 6-4.
Mikhail Youzhny of Russia beat Dutchman Robin Haase 6-3, 6-2, and Germany’s Cedrik-Marcel Stebe defeated Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
Gijon to host Spain-US
Davis Cup semifinal
GIJON, Spain — Spain will host the United States in the Davis Cup semifinals in the northern coastal city of Gijon.
The Spanish Tennis Federation says the match will be played on an outdoor red clay court at the 13,000-seat Parque Hermanos Castro on Sept. 14-16. Gijon is about 235 miles north of Madrid.
The U.S. and Spain have met 10 times in the Davis Cup, with each winning five. Defending champion Spain has not lost at home since 1999 when it was defeated by Brazil in Lerida.
The other semifinal is between the Czech Republic and Argentina at the Parque Roca in Buenos Aires.
Rain washes out 1st day at several tournaments in Europe
BIRMINGHAM, England — The first day of the Birmingham women’s grass-court tournament was washed out by rain Monday without a point being played.
Former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy is the top-seeded player at the Aegon Classic, which serves as a warmup for Wimbledon.
Sabine Lisicki is the defending champion, although the German has played only three matches and lost all three since retiring because of an ankle injury against Serena Williams in April.
In Bad Gastein, Austria, no matches from the main draw were completed on the opening day of the Gastein Ladies on Monday because of rain.
Mandy Minella of Luxembourg led Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia 6-3, 4-3 when the rain started.
As the weather improved after a six-hour delay, only remaining qualifying matches were completed.
Julia Goerges of Germany is the top-seeded player in the clay-court event.
Also, in London on Monday, the first day of the Queen’s Club grass-court tournament was wiped out by rain.
With 16 first-round matches postponed and showers predicted for the rest of the week, the Wimbledon warmup could be facing a Monday final for a second straight year. Britain’s Andy Murray beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the 2011 final.
Murray is the top seed this year, with Tsonga second.
By wire sources