BELLEFONTE — The last of Jerry Sandusky’s accusers to take the stand drew a deep sigh and paused before finding the nerve to deliver his emotional testimony.

The 18-year-old, known as alleged victim No. 9, was the last of eight young men to testify for the prosecution. He was the first to say Sandusky forced him to have anal sex.

The young man, in a hushed voice, said the abuse occurred over a number of years in Sandusky’s basement. 

He lowered his head while answering questions, avoided eye contact and refused altogether to look at Sandusky.

When asked to identify his alleged abuser, the teen pointed to the defense table, but looked away.

“It was Jerry,” he said quietly.

Like the others, the witness said he met Sandusky through The Second Mile. “At first he was nice,” he said.

Within weeks, the witness, then 12, was regularly spending the night at Sandusky’s home. He estimated he slept there as many as 100 times.

The witness said he told his mother early on that Sandusky was “touchy-feely,” but did not describe the sexual acts that would allegedly follow.

“My mom wanted me to go (to Sandusky’s home),” he said. “How are you supposed to tell your mom something like that?”

The teen said Sandusky started climbing in his bed and fondling him. Eventually, Sandusky began forcing him to perform oral sex, he alleged.

He went quiet when asked what happened next.

After prosecutor Joseph E. McGettigan III reminded him of warnings that he’d have to answer difficult questions, the witness described the first time Sandusky allegedly forced him to have anal sex.

He testified that Sandusky made him put his mouth on the older man’s penis, then “he got real aggressive and just forced me into it,” he said.

“And I just went with it. There was no fighting against it.”

In 2009, the boy reached his breaking point, and refused to go to Sandusky’s home, disobeying his mother. 

It was his mother who contacted police to report the alleged abuse when she saw Sandusky was charged last November.

During cross-examination by defense attorney Joe Amendola, the boy admitted he attended a Penn State football game with Sandusky in September, years after the alleged abuse.

“The only reason I went that time is because I had a friend with me,” the witness said. “I think if anything went down, my friend had my back.”

‘I loved him’

Another alleged victim testified Thursday about inappropriate contact with Sandusky in the basement of his home.

The young man known as victim No. 3 testified that Sandusky fondled him in the basement. He said he was not subjected to oral or anal sex.

“I didn’t really think it was weird at the time,” he said. “But he would come in and he’d have his shirt off. He’d ask why I’d want to sleep with all my clothes on.”

The witness said he would strip down to his underwear. He said Sandusky would sit on the edge of the bed and try to make him laugh.

“Whenever he made me laugh he’d jump on the bed and start tickling me,” he said. “He’d blow on my stomach and pelvis, other times he’d touch my penis.”

The witness said he also showered with Sandusky. He testified that Sandusky would wash him and bear hug him in the shower after workouts. He said the touching made him uncomfortable, but that he didn’t say anything because he wanted to remain close to Sandusky.

“He made me feel like I was part of something, a family,” the witness said. “He gave me things I never had before. I just didn’t want to give any of it up.”

When McGettigan asked, “Did you like him?” the man said, “I loved him.”

The young man testified that it was him who ended the relationship with Sandusky, because he was sent away to live in a group home. 

He also expressed anger, however, that Sandusky didn’t try to contact him after he was placed in foster care.

McGettigan asked if the witness if he is mad now. The man responded: “I’m mad. I’m raged. I’m hurt.”

McGettigan asked why.

“Because he (Sandusky) could just forget about me like I was nothing after I got sent away,” the witness answered. “I prayed he would call me, find a way to get me out of there, adopt me.”

Matt Carroll can be reached at 231-4631. Follow him on Twitter @Carrollreporter