In the tiny Pennsylvania burg of Bellefonte, population 6,000, the circus is in town.
Welcome to the Jerry Sandusky preliminary hearing.
The former Penn State coach will face his accusers in court for the first time this morning.
And just about every media member on the planet will be in attendance.
So unparalleled is this event that the judge presiding over the hearing has lifted Pennsylvania’s normal ban on electronic reporting from inside the courtroom.
Meaning that reporters will be allowed to tweet, blog and post on Facebook all day.
You can follow all the developments here.
Or you can ignore it. I can tell you now what is going to happen. Sandusky will be head for trial on probably all the charges that he abused as many as 10 children, now grown men. Many of the alleged victims will take the stand and testify against Sandusky. Also possibly set to testify is Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary, who told a grand jury that he witnessed Sandusky sexually assaulting a boy in a locker room shower.
This is not a trial. This is the preliminary hearing. At this hearing it is up to the prosecution to present enough evidence to convince a judge that the case should go forward to trial. They almost always do just that.
Don’t tell the media, however. They will be breathlessly reporting from Bellefonte all day.
Anybody care to fathom a guess as to the over-under on how many times the word Sandusky is uttered today?
Comments