Jerry Sandusky called himself a "tickle monster" according to one of his accuser who took the stand to testify on Day 4 of the child sex abuse trial.
Three of his alleged victims testified on Thursday, giving more insight to how complex and confusing their relationships were with a man they once idolized.
Sandusky smiled at reporters as he arrived for court and grinned when the man the grand jury identifies as Victim No. 6 took the stand. Now 25, and a recent graduate of bible school, he testified about how excited he was to meet the former assistant Penn State football coach through the Second Mile program, which was Sandusky's charity. Victim No. 6 was 11 when he says Sandusky invited him to work out at the Penn State gym. He said it was awkward when Sandusky insisted he get in the shower with him. He said that Sandusky told him he was the tickle monster and started tickling him and then grabbed him. He testified:
"I believe at some point he grabbed me in a bear hug and said I'm going to squeeze your guts out and then I remember his chest hair next to my face and I thought this was icky."
He says Sandusky lifted him up to the shower head to get the soap out of his hair and that he can't remember anything else after the shower after that -- that everything else is blacked out. He testified that he did remember coming home and telling his mother, "If you want to know why my hair is wet it's because we took a shower."
He said he was upset with his mother for calling the police. He said, "I didn't want to get him in trouble because I still wanted to hang out with him and go out to the games and he told me about he had a computer he'd invite me over and I could sit on his lap and we could be on the computer together."
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Former Penn State police investigator Ronald Schreffler testified that he came to the boy's house in May of 1998 and hid in a bedroom while the mother confronted Sandusky. He said, "During the course of the conversation I heard him [Sandusky] say, 'I wish I could ask for forgiveness. I wish I could get it from you. I wish I was dead.'"
Schreffler testified that he wanted to press charges but the District Attorney at the time didn't think they had a case.
There was an opportunity, a missed opportunity in 1998. An opportunity that wasn't missed by just one person, it was missed by multiple people and it adds to the pain that this young man suffers," said Howard Janet, the attorney for alleged Victim No. 6.
Alleged Victim No. 3, also 25 now, says he also met Sandusky through Second Mile when he was 11. That Sandusky grabbed his knee in the car. That he stayed in the Sandusky basement overnight probably 50 times and most of those times he said, "He would touch me and rub me and grab me."
He testified he didn't like it, but he said he dealt with it because "He made me feel like I was part of something, gave me things I never had before. I loved him. Jerry said it was like I was extended family, unconditionally loved."
"This is not at all uncommon of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse," said Justine Andronici, attorney for alleged Victim No. 3. "in terms of the relationship, that is one of the things that makes it so hard to break the silence.
Alleged Victim No. 9 was the last to testify and he struggled to tell the jury about what he called aggressive, severe sexual assault over time.
