UPDATE: Sandusky jury to restart deliberations Friday - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

UPDATE: Sandusky jury to restart deliberations Friday

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BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) -- Jurors will return Friday to deliberate in the child sex abuse trial of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

The jury talked about the case for more than eight hours Thursday before ending deliberations at about 9:30 p.m.

Earlier in the evening, the jurors asked to rehear testimony from two witnesses.

They want to listen again to the testimony of Mike McQueary, a onetime Penn State graduate assistant who reported seeing Sandusky assault a boy in a shower. They also want to rehear the testimony of Dr. Jonathan Dranov, who testified that McQueary gave him a different account of what he saw.

They'll rehear the testimony Friday.

Sandusky is accused of sexual abuse of 10 boys over a 15-year period, allegations he's denied.

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BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) -- A lawyer for an adopted son of Jerry Sandusky says the man has told authorities the former Penn State assistant football coach abused him.

Matt Sandusky is one of Jerry Sandusky's six adopted children.

His lawyer issued a statement Thursday naming Matt Sandusky and saying that the 33-year-old had been prepared to testify on behalf of prosecutors at his father's sex abuse trial.

The statement says Matt Sandusky is "a victim of Jerry Sandusky's abuse," but doesn't go into specifics.

The statement came after jurors began deliberating 48 charges against the ex-coach. Prosecutors say Sandusky met the 10 sex-abuse victims through his charity.

Lawyers for Matt and Jerry Sandusky and prosecutors did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Matt Sandusky's lawyer says his client met with investigators very recently.

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BELLEFONTE, Pa. (WKOW) -- Prosecutors say the jurors in Jerry Sandusky's child sexual abuse case can't forget about the 10 boys the former Penn State assistant football coach is accused of abusing.

During closing arguments Thursday, Senior Deputy Attorney General Joe McGettigan told the jury not to be distracted by defense conspiracy theories as they decide whether Sandusky sexually abused boys he met through a charity he founded.

Jury deliberations began shortly after McGettigan's closing arguments.

Earlier Thursday, Sandusky's defense attorney, Joe Amendola, said the case is a result of overzealous investigators coaching witnesses. He also says accusers are seeking big payouts from potential civil lawsuits.

Prosecutors say Sandusky showered with his victims, fondled them and in some cases forced them to engage in sex acts.

Sandusky faces 48 criminal counts for the alleged abuse of 10 boys over 15 years. If convicted, the 68-year-old could spend the rest of his life in prison.

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BELLEFONTE, Pa. (WKOW) -- The judge overseeing Jerry Sandusky's child sex abuse trial has thrown out three of the 51 charges in the case, leaving the former Penn State assistant football coach facing 48 counts.

Judge John Cleland dismissed two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse related to the alleged sexual abuse of an accuser known as Victim 4. Cleland says the charges did not bear out what testimony revealed.

In his Thursday morning ruling, Cleland says he would have been required to set aside any convictions on those counts, because "the verdict was not supported by the evidence."

The judge also dismissed a count that he says was the same as another charge.

Cleland also denied a defense motion to dismiss five counts related to a boy who was allegedly seen with Sandusky by a janitor.

Sandusky now faces 48 criminal counts for the alleged abuse of 10 boys over 15 years.

The jury is expected to get the case Thursday.

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BELLEFONTE, Pa. (WKOW) -- Closing arguments are set for Thursday in the child sex abuse trial of Jerry Sandusky.

The defense rested on its third day Wednesday without calling the former Penn State assistant coach to the stand to dispute the charges against him.

Sandusky is accused of molesting boys at his home and on campus for more than a decade.

The defense called only four new witnesses Wednesday. They included a physician who they used to try to poke holes in the story of a Penn State coaching assistant who testified that he saw Sandusky sexually assault a boy in the campus showers.

Sandusky is charged with 51 criminal counts for the alleged abuse of 10 boys over 15 years. If convicted, the 68-year-old former defensive coordinator could be sent to state prison for the rest of his life.

Judge John Cleland said jury instructions and closing arguments by the defense and then prosecution would take place Thursday morning.

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