The Times Herald is reporting that Judge Leslie Dutchcot who was a supporter of Second Mile, the charity run by Sandusky, has been replaced by an out of county judge to preside over the case. Pennsylvania Representatives Mike Vereb led the campaign requesting that Dutchot recuse herself.
Rep. Vereb had this to say;
“Due to the unique circumstances surrounding this case, it was essential that every precaution be taken to ensure all legal proceedings occur without the appearance of bias on the part of the judicial system. With this particular case, it would have been extremely difficult to find a judge without some connection to Penn State, The Second Mile or any alleged victims. Assigning the case to an out-of-county judge takes away any hint of bias or conflict of interest.”
The relationship between Second Mile stems from Dutchcots monetary donations to Second Mile and Robert Poole, chairmen of Second Mile was a donor to Dutchots campaign as she ran for her judicial seat.
Before Dutchcot was removed she set Sandusky’s bail to $100,000, even though prosecutors suggested a $500,000 secured bail (a secured bail bond requires the suspect to put up a security deposit or some form of collateral (often property) as a guarantee that he or she will show up for the trial) and for Sandusky to wear an ankle monitor. Sandusky’s preliminary hearing is tentatively set for December 7th.
Judge from Westmoreland County Robert E. Scott will administer Sandusky’s preliminary hearing. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts affirms Scott has no ties with Pennsylvania State University, The Second Mile charity or any “officers or representatives of any of those entities,” a press release read.
Finally we see people acting responsibly in this saga. There was no way Dutchcot could preside over this case without having a bias towards Sandusky. We already saw how seriously she took the case, giving Sandusky an extremely low unsecure bail against prosecution’s request.