Sandusky's Lawyers at Tucker Arensberg, P.C. Allege Prosecutors Took Control of Accuser's $12 Million Trust

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Sept. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky has filed a Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) petition alleging that the prosecutors who secured his 2012 conviction later profited by embedding themselves in control of a multimillion-dollar settlement trust for one of the state's highest-paid accusers.

According to the petition, former Senior Deputy Attorney General Frank Fina and lead prosecutor Joseph McGettigan were instrumental in steering "Victim 9," Sabastian Paden, toward civil counsel, structuring a settlement, and ensuring control through a trust created in April 2015 after Penn State paid $20 million to resolve his claims.

A three-member Trust Protective Committee was installed with sweeping authority over the remaining balance, about $12 million. Members included:

Frank Fina, Sandusky prosecutor.

Gay Warren, described as McGettigan's longtime partner.

Lauren Cliggitt, Paden's therapist.

The committee held veto rights over distributions above $100,000, power to remove trustees "for any reason whatsoever," and compensation from trust assets at hourly professional rates plus $5,000 annually.

"This arrangement created a built-in incentive to preserve control and fees," the petition argues. "By blending law enforcement, therapy, and profit, prosecutors blurred ethical lines."

Coached Testimony Alleged

The petition also cites affidavits suggesting trial testimony was shaped by prosecutors:

Paden's mother swore her son denied abuse until McGettigan told him, "You will never have to work a day in your life," and coached her own testimony.

Another accuser, Victim 10 Ryan Rittmeyer, recanted this summer, describing leading questions and memory manipulation during prep sessions that led to a $5.5 million settlement.

Paden and Aaron Fisher (Victim 1) both testified they were abused "every weekend" between 2005–2008—claims contradicted by their mothers and impossible to reconcile.

Suppressed Evidence

The petition highlights evidence the jury never heard:

Emails in which assistant coach Mike McQueary admitted he did not see sodomy.

A taped interview of janitor Jim Calhoun saying Sandusky was not the perpetrator.

An affidavit from Allan Myers, the boy in the shower, denying abuse.

Broader Concerns

The filing notes Fina's later misconduct, including his suspension for mishandling grand-jury testimony and central role in the "Porngate" email scandal that toppled two Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices.

Relief Sought

Sandusky, 81, convicted on 45 counts and serving 30–60 years, seeks an evidentiary hearing and a new trial. His lawyers argue that the trust evidence, affidavits, and recantations qualify as after-discovered evidence likely to alter the outcome.

"This case was infected at every level," said [Defense Counsel]. "When prosecutors later took control of a $12 million trust tied to their star witness, the integrity of the entire conviction must be re-examined."

The petition was filed in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas by attorneys Jerry J. Russo, J. Andrew Salemme, Barbara A. Zemlock, and Heidi Freese of Tucker Arensberg, P.C. The Commonwealth has not yet responded.

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SOURCE Tucker Arensberg, P.C.