Jury may get Sandusky case by Thursday

The judge in the Jerry Sandusky child molestation trial called an early recess Monday, citing “technical difficulties” with the defense’s witnesses.

The lunchtime recess went about 25 minutes long.

After attorneys appeared again in the courtroom, Senior Judge John Cleland made a cryptic announcement to the jury — that though his meeting with the lawyers had delayed things for the moment, it would “materially” speed things along.

Then, after hearing from three witnesses for the defense — two of whom were prompted to talk about Sandusky’s strong character — the judge paused, open-mouthed for a moment, before speaking.

“Let me tell you where we are,” he told the jury.

He says he expects Tuesday and Wednesday to be “full days” for the defense’s case, with closing arguments anticipated Thursday morning.

A civil attorney for one of the alleged victims in the case says that timetable indicates it’s unlikely Sandusky will take the stand.

Cleland also told the jury they’ll be sequestered during their deliberations.

The judge says technical difficulties with regard to witnesses prompted the early recess.

The defense’s witnesses have included a man who met Sandusky as a child through The Second Mile charity, a former fundraising consultant for the charity, and two ex-coaches at Penn State, all of whom said they still think highly of Sandusky.

Before lunch, one of the defense’s witnesses was prevented from testifying at all due to an objection from the prosecution.

Earlier Monday, the prosecution rested its case against the former assistant football coach. He is accused of 51 child sex abuse charges.