(Newser)
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The Jerry Sandusky trial kicked off today, with, notably, the defense addressing the love letters ABC News claims Sandusky sent to "Victim Four." The Patriot-News reports that his team has filed a motion to "provide a fair explanation" for the alleged letters. The motion states that a psychologist will vouch for the fact that "the content and nature" of the letters are in line with what someone with Histrionic Personality Disorder would produce. In other trial news:
- Judge John Cleland spent 25 minutes instructing the jury, and addressed concerns about the Penn State-heavy pool, describing the jury as "a cross-section of the citizens of Centre County ... a jury of the defendant's peers."
- The prosecution showed jurors the photos and first names of eight of the 10 alleged victims—the ones who will, at some point, take the stand. Prosecutor Joe McGettigan called Sandusky a "predatory pedophile" who did not "select" but "discovered" his victims via his Second Mile charity. McGettigan gave one example of what is to come: testimony regarding a hotel encounter on a bowl trip in which Sandusky allegedly "began to coerce oral sex" from an alleged victim.
- The defense's approach: It told the jury it plans to break down each case individually, revealing that the accusers started singing a new tune after being questioned, changing initial stories of no abuse or "groping" to tales of "all-out sex." He also said the accusers "had a financial interest in pursuing this case."
