06-04-2012, 02:16 PM
(CNN) -- Jury selection in the trial of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach charged with child rape, is scheduled to start Tuesday in Pennsylvania.
A judge last week denied his attorneys' latest bid for a delay, allowing the case to move forward.
Sandusky, 68, has been under house arrest since being charged with sexually abusing 10 young boys over a 14-year period. Prosecutors allege he met some of his accusers through Second Mile, a charity he created for underprivileged children.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The allegations against Sandusky led to the firing of iconic Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno only months before he died of complications from lung cancer.
Several of the people whom prosecutors accuse Sandusky of abusing asked a judge to protect their identities at trial.
However, Judge John Cleland on Monday ruled the alleged victims' identities may not be concealed during the trial, although they will be protected through the jury selection process.
"Courts are not customarily in the business of withholding information," Cleland's ruling said. "Secrecy is thought to be inconsistent with the openness required to assure the public that the law is being administered fairly and applied faithfully."
But, the judge noted, "It is also be to hoped that various news organizations that will report on the trial will use what has become their professional custom to protect the privacy of alleged victims."
A judge last week denied his attorneys' latest bid for a delay, allowing the case to move forward.
Sandusky, 68, has been under house arrest since being charged with sexually abusing 10 young boys over a 14-year period. Prosecutors allege he met some of his accusers through Second Mile, a charity he created for underprivileged children.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The allegations against Sandusky led to the firing of iconic Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno only months before he died of complications from lung cancer.
Several of the people whom prosecutors accuse Sandusky of abusing asked a judge to protect their identities at trial.
However, Judge John Cleland on Monday ruled the alleged victims' identities may not be concealed during the trial, although they will be protected through the jury selection process.
"Courts are not customarily in the business of withholding information," Cleland's ruling said. "Secrecy is thought to be inconsistent with the openness required to assure the public that the law is being administered fairly and applied faithfully."
But, the judge noted, "It is also be to hoped that various news organizations that will report on the trial will use what has become their professional custom to protect the privacy of alleged victims."