Teen Client Impregnated by Sandusky's Lawyer: Mom

Then Joe Amendola married her
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 15, 2011 10:50 AM CST
Teen Client Impregnated by Sandusky's Lawyer, Alleges Her Mom
Former Penn State football defensive coordinator Gerald "Jerry" Sandusky sits in a car as he leaves the office of a Centre County Magisterial District Judge in State College, Pa., Nov. 5, 2011.   (AP Photo/The Patriot-News, Andy Colwell, File)

Jerry Sandusky might think twice about his choice of lawyer: 63-year-old Joe Amendola once impregnated a teenage client, according to a report from The Daily. Amendola represented Mary Iavasile in her bid to be emancipated from her parents just before her 17th birthday in 1996—and according to the mother she was leaving, Mary became pregnant with the then-49-year-old’s child around the same time. "At the time, I didn’t know the extent of the relationship," Janet Iavasile says, describing Amendola as a "mentor" to Mary who "was interested in the law."

It's worth noting that while the relationship might be sketchy, it's probably not illegal: The age of consent in Pennsylvania is 16, and Mary Iavasile gave birth before her 18th birthday, says her mother. Amendola later married Iavasile in 2003, and had a second child with her—Janet Iavasile says he proved to be "a very good father." They have since separated. Asked for comment, the now-32-year-old Mary Amendola simply said, "all of the information is incorrect." But the Daily notes that when Joe Amendola professed to trust Sandusky with his children, Mary Amendola posted on Facebook: "OMG did Joe just say that he would allow my kids to be alone with Jerry Sandusky?" (In other Sandusky news, 10 new accusers have come forward.)

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