Sandusky newest hearing for PCRA petition canceled

McKean County Senior Judge John Cleland, with the agreement of counsel, canceled a scheduled May 20 hearing for retired Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

The former coach is in pursuit of a Post Conviction Relief Act petition, looking for a new trial in his child sex abuse crimes case. He was convicted in 2012 of 45 of 48 counts in one of the largest and most publicized trials in Centre County history.

The decision came after Barry Feudale, the former judge who presided over the grand jury that recommended charges against Sandusky, filed documents in Centre County court Tuesday to not testify at the hearing. Feudale’s attorney, Samuel Stretton, said that testifying would violate the secrecy of the grand jury.

“There is absolutely no way that Judge Feudale could testify in a PCRA proceeding and not touch on grand jury material,” Stretton wrote.

According to the document, Feudale signed a secrecy oath in front of Judge Norman Krumenacker in January.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Sandusky newest hearing for PCRA petition canceled."