Sandusky to cancel hearing, seek federal appeal

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  Robert KlemkoSep 3, 2026, 01:00 PM ET

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  Robert Klemko is a senior investigative reporter. Reach him on Signal @klemko.84.

Jerry Sandusky has instructed his attorneys to seek cancellation of a Sept. 8 hearing in which one of his accusers was expected to recant his sexual assault accusation, opting instead to take his appeal for a new trial to federal court, according to a spokesperson and investigator representing the former Penn State football assistant coach.

Frank Parlato Jr., an investigator who has been looking into Sandusky's case for three years and who encouraged accuser Ryan Rittmeyer to formalize his recantation in court, told ESPN attorneys for the 82-year-old would file paperwork this week to withdraw from the Sept. 8 hearing and instead seek a federal court remedy.

An attorney for Sandusky did not respond to ESPN's request for comment.

Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison. Six charges were attributable to Rittmeyer, then known as 'Victim 10', who testified Sandusky abused him on multiple occasions in 1998 and 1999.

Rittmeyer swore in an affidavit that he did not have a clear memory of being sexually assaulted by Sandusky as a child, writing that investigators "repeatedly encouraged me to believe that Mr. Sandusky had molested me -- despite my lack of clear or certain memory of any such conduct." He said prosecutors assured him he would be compensated in subsequent civil proceedings.

In a statement provided to reporters last week, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office described the recantation as "highly suspect." The Attorney General's office did not respond to ESPN's request to elaborate on that characterization.

Parlato said Sandusky's attorneys hoped to present other evidence they believe points to a flawed investigation and biased prosecution but were denied by the presiding judge. Instead, Sandusky will seek federal habeas relief, Parlato said, which generally requires prisoners to exhaust available state-court remedies first.

Sandusky this week said he could not receive a fair hearing in Centre County.

"Over the years I have brought 15 serious issues before Pennsylvania's courts, each one showing I deserve a new trial," Sandusky said in a voice recording provided to ESPN by Parlato. "Every one was swatted down. I have no faith this one would be treated differently, no matter how compelling the evidence. In federal court, every one of those issues can be heard together by judges who have not already made up their minds about me... I need to get there as fast as possible.

"I am 82 years old. I am innocent. I intend to be alive when the truth is heard."

The investigation into Sandusky led Penn State's Board of Trustees to fire longtime head coach Joe Paterno in 2011. Paterno, who died in 2012, acknowledged he had been made aware of an alleged incident involving Sandusky and a young boy in 2001.

Penn State said in 2013 it had reached 26 settlements with victims totaling $59.7 million. Rittmeyer received a $5.5 million settlement from the school.

Parlato was also slated to testify at the Sept. 8 hearing. His reporting played a key role in exposing the NXIVM cult and its leader, convicted sex trafficker and racketeer Keith Raniere, for whom Parlato once worked as a publicist.

Parlato has investigated the Sandusky case for three years, he said, interviewed Sandusky in prison and written numerous articles examining the case on his web site, Frank Report.

Parlato believes investigators, prosecutors and the local judiciary faced immense public pressure to charge and convict Sandusky quickly, cultivating false witnesses in Rittmeyer and others who had come into contact with Sandusky through his Second Mile charity.

"Everything the public thinks it knows about Jerry Sandusky is the opposite of the truth," Parlato said. "I've come to the unequivocal conclusion that Jerry Sandusky is innocent. My sincere interest is not to see Jerry die in prison."