Jerry Sandusky Sex Scandal: Disgraced Coach May Now Face Tampering Charges

Jerry Sandusky is now staring at the very real possibility of facing tampering charges alongside the 40 counts of sexual assault he is about to stand trial for. 

Basis for Tampering

As Lisa Riordan Seville and Hannah Rappleye of NBC News report, "Jerry Sandusky said he spoke to and even dined with men now identified as his victims."

This contact came while he was under investigation, and that definitely leaves him open to tampering chargers.

“One of the questions that raised in my mind, ‘Was this an effort on his part to tamper with witnesses?' said Howard Janet, a Baltimore attorney representing the man known in the grand jury report of Sandusky as Victim 6. 'Was it intended as a way to influence the public or the prospective jury pool?'”

Apparently police wanted the man, known as Victim No. 6 in the grand jury report, to wear a wire to the dinner.

Riordan Seville and Rappleye reported that Janet told them his client, "eventually decided not to because he was nervous."

Appearance of Tampering Guilt

All of this just amounts to another damning piece of evidence against Sandusky.

Riordan Seville and Rappleye report that in July, Sandusky called Victim No. 6 to set up the dinner.

While the former coach called this dinner a Second Mile "reunion," that is a hard-to-swallow reason given that the NBC report said Victim No. 6 did not see any other Second Mile kids at the dinner.

Sandusky would have been fully aware of the case against him at this point.

Sandusky and his defense will maintain that Sandusky did not know these people were named in the grand jury report. However, this is very hard to believe, especially in light of the fact that Riordan Seville and Rappleye also reported that Sandusky's lawyer, Joe Amendola, said the person he believed to be Victim No. 2 was also at the dinner.

That is the victim involved in the alleged assault in the showers of the Penn State locker room, reportedly witnessed by Mike McQueary.

At the very least, it would seem that Sandusky had to have had the thought that this person could quite possibly be involved in the trial.

Also, per the NBC report, Victim No. 7 testified that Sandusky and his wife left several messages over the phone trying to get in contact with him. This was also after the grand jury case was opened.

This is a giant pile of evidence suggesting that Sandusky was attempting to tamper with this case. It is hard to think of any reasoning the defense could offer to sway people to believe otherwise.