The trial of former Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky began Monday morning, and the start of the shocking sex-crimes trial brought out rubberneckers of all kinds.
By 7:30 a.m., a line about 50 deep extended down the steps of the 200-year-old courthouse. People who had cell phones were asked by sheriff’s deputies to return to their cars to leave the devices there. People continued to trickle in until the doors were shut around 8:30.
“I feel like we’re living in a William Faulkner novel,” said Joe Torrell, a 62-year-old from Bellefonte. “Southern courthouse — all the townspeople coming out. Who would have expected this to happen in our little town?”
The spectators apparently included a lot of people with no real connection to Sandusky or his victims who just wanted to participate in a bit of history. I suppose that’s a natural impulse, but it can’t make things easier for the alleged victims.
For more on the Jerry Sandusky trial, check out the rest of this StoryStream.