BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- Dottie Sandusky, the wife of Jerry Sandusky, has been called to the witness stand by her husband's legal team.
Her initial remarks during the start of her testimony Tuesday focused on how she and her husband met.
Dottie Sandusky has stood by her husband, posting his bail, accompanying him to court proceedings and issuing a statement in December that proclaimed his innocence and said that accusers were making up their stories.
She is not charged in the case.
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One witness has already testified that he was attacked the Sanduskys' basement and once tried to cry out for help when she was upstairs.
Dottie Sandusky was called after a psychologist testifying for the defense said Jerry Sandusky has personality disorder characterized by excessive emotionality and attention seeking.
Elliot Atkins said that he interviewed Sandusky for six hours before diagnosing the ex-coach with "histrionic personality disorder." Atkins says people with the disorder often interact with people in inappropriately seductive ways and don't feel comfortable unless they're the center of attention.
Sandusky's attorney is hoping to convince jurors that the disorder could explain his client's letters and other interaction that prosecutors allege shows his grooming of victims.
Defense attorneys also suggested in their questioning earlier Tuesday that investigators shared details among accusers, planting the seeds of the alleged victims' evolving accounts of abuse, while prosecutors could be working on a rebuttal to defense statements, particularly if the former Penn State assistant football coach testifies.
Defense attorney Joe Amendola told reporters Tuesday morning to "stay tuned" to find out if Sandusky would take the stand himself, comparing the case to a soap opera. Asked which soap opera, defense attorney Joe Amendola initially said "General Hospital," then "All My Children."
Once Tuesday's proceedings began, Amendola had sharp questions for two state police investigators who interviewed the alleged victims.
Amendola questioned the investigators about what details they shared during those interviews, in particular with the accuser known in court papers as Victim 4.
Amendola asked retired Cpl. Joseph Leiter if investigators told interviewees about others who had stepped forward.
"In some of our interviews ... we did tell them," he said.
Asked why, Leiter said it was to let possible victims know they were not alone.
"Each of these accusers was very, very seriously injured, and very concerned, and we had told them -- especially prior to going to the grand jury -- that they wouldn't be alone, that there were others," Leiter said.
Leiter said that did not include sharing individual accusers' recollections of abuse, such as specific sex acts.
"We never told them what anyone else had ever told us," he said.
But Amendola later read Leiter portions of an interview transcript in which the investigator told the accuser that others had reported abuse that progressed to oral sex and rape.
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Former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky is standing trial on accusations of molesting young boys. ESPN.com Topics has full coverage of the scandal and the ongoing trial. Topics Page �
Victim 4, now 28, testified last week that Sandusky sexually abused him in the locker-room showers and in hotels for five years while trying to ensure his silence with gifts and trips to bowl games.
On the stand, he admitted that he lied to police and his own lawyer about the alleged abuse, saying he had "denied it forever." But he testified calmly and firmly, saying Sandusky performed oral sex on him and sent him "creepy love letters."
The man's attorney, Ben Andreozzi, also was called to the stand and asked about a discussion he had with investigators during a break in an interview with his client.
On a difficult-to-hear recording of the discussion, Andreozzi and Leiter can be heard talking about the investigation while the accuser is out of the room.
Andreozzi acknowledged to jurors that a guilty verdict in Sandusky's trial could have an impact on his client if he files a civil lawsuit, but he told the court that hadn't been decided yet.
Andreozzi also denied coaching his client on what to say to investigators.
"He viewed Jerry as a father figure to him. It's been extremely difficult talking about this publicly," Andreozzi said.
The defense appeared to catch one of the investigators in a lie after recalling him to the stand.
Trooper Scott Rossman said that he hadn't spoken to Leiter about their testimony after he first left the stand Tuesday, but Leiter said they had talked about it.
Sandusky is charged with 51 criminal counts related to 10 alleged victims over a 15-year span. He's accused of engaging in illegal sexual contact ranging from fondling to forced oral and anal sex.
While prosecutors rested their case Monday after presenting 21 witnesses, including eight who said they had been assaulted by Sandusky, they have asked NBC to turn over and authenticate full transcripts of a phone interview that Sandusky did with Bob Costas last November. Among the Sandusky comments in the transcripts that were not aired on TV was: "I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped." How that and other statements are interpreted could play a role in the trial that is expected to wrap up this week.
During the interview, which was posted on msnbc.com, Sandusky said that he is a "very passionate person in terms of trying to make a difference in the lives of some young people."
He said that he tried to be something significant in their lives and "maybe this gets misinterpreted."
Costas asks if what he is describing isn't the classic technique used by many pedophiles. "So it's entirely possible that you could've helped young boy A in some way that was not objectionable while horribly taking advantage of young boy B, C, D and E. Isn't that possible?" Costas asked.
Sandusky replied: "Well -- you might think that. I don't know. In terms of -- my relationship with so many, many young people. I would -- I would guess that there are many young people who would come forward. Many more young people who would come forward and say that my methods and -- and what I had done for them made a very positive impact on their life. And I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have -- I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways."
The additional portions of the interview came to light last week after portions were released on "The Today Show" and on various websites.
Sandusky's arrest led the university trustees to fire Joe Paterno as coach in November, saying his response to the 2001 report from McQueary showed a lack of leadership. Paterno died of cancer in January.
Meanwhile, a witness Tuesday told jurors she knew Victim 4 through her brother and that he had a reputation for "dishonesty and embellished stories." The woman, who said her brother was the alleged victim's best friend, is an Iraq war veteran who suffered a brain injury before she was discharged.
The defense also called former New York Jets linebacker Lance Mehl, who played for the Nittany Lions in the 1970s.
"We all looked up to him as a class act," Mehl said when Amendola asked him about Sandusky's reputation.
Remaining possible defense witnesses include Sandusky's wife, Dottie, a physician who spoke with key prosecution witness Mike McQueary the night he said he saw Sandusky attack a child in a football team shower in 2001, and members of Paterno's family, although it was unclear how they might fit into the defense case or whether they will be called.
Attorneys retained by the accusers say they've also received subpoenas to testify.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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