New Judge Replaces Dutchcot in Penn State, Sandusky Case: Report

The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts announced Wednesday that a new judge, Robert E. Scott, will be handling Jerry Sandusky's child sex-abuse charges from here on out, according to the Associated Press.

Scott, a Westmoreland County senior district judge, will preside over Sandusky's preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec. 7, taking over the hearing from Centre County District Judge Leslie A. Dutchcot. Dutchcot, according to reports, has donated money to The Second Mile, a charity established by Sandusky for at-risk children and the place where authorities say he met his victims.

According to Sara Ganim of the Harrisburg Patriot-News, Dutchcot may have also let Sandusky slide when Sandusky was initially arraigned on Nov. 5. Prosecutors requested a $500,000 bail and that Sandusky be required to wear a leg monitor, but Dutchcot freed him on a $100,000 unsecured bail instead, decreeing that Sandusky will pay nothing unless he fails to show up for his hearing.

The office said Scott, on the other hand, has no known ties to Penn State or The Second Mile.

Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn., attorney who has long represented clergy-abuse victims, told The AP on Wednesday that several people he described as Sandusky victims have retained him.

There's a great deal of fury and confusion, particularly because Sandusky, who was charged on Nov. 5 with 40 counts of sexual abuse for alleged crimes that occurred between 1994 and 2009, is free on bail, Anderson said. Getting [them] help and cooperating with law enforcement is our first priority.