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Sandusky's Adopted Son Says He Was An Abuse Victim, Too

A lawyer for Jerry Sandusky's adopted son says Matthew Sandusky was also a victim of the former Penn State assistant football coach.

In a statement released by Andrew Shubin, Matthew Sandusky said he was prepared to testify against his father.

The Patriot-News first broke the story and Shubin confirmed his statement to NPR.

The Patriot-News reports that "Matt, 33, was adopted by Jerry and Dottie Sandusky as an adult, after going to live with the family as a foster child."

The News adds:

"He has denied ever being abused by his adopted father until now. 'This has been an extremely painful experience for Matt and he has asked us to convey his request that the media respect his privacy. There will be no further comment,' Shubin said in a statement."

In the statement, the lawyers said that Matthew contacted Shubin and his law partner Justine Andronici, who are representing other alleged victims, during the trial.

"At Matt's request, we immediately arranged a meeting between him and the prosecutors and investigators," the statement read.

Update at 6:17 p.m. ET. Background:

Matt Sandusky was one of six adopted children. The Washington Post provides a bit more background:

"Shortly after the former coach's arrest in November, Matt Sandusky's ex-wife went to court to keep her former father-in-law away from their three young children. Jill Jones successfully obtained a restraining order forbidding the children from sleeping over at their grandparents' home.

"At around the same time, details emerged that Matt Sandusky had attempted suicide just four months after first going to live with the couple in 1995. He had come into the home through The Second Mile charity, which Jerry Sandusky founded, and was first a foster child before being legally adopted."

Update at 5:54 p.m. ET. At The Courthouse:

This morning, NBC News reported that Matthew Sandusky was seen entering the courthouse. Quoting unnamed sources, NBC News reported that Matthew was "prepared to provide damaging testimony" against his father.

According to NBC News, the prosecution told the defense if Sandusky testified, they would call his adopted son to the stand.

Sandusky was not called to testify.

The jury began deliberations on the case this afternoon.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.