The person, who requested anonymity because no one was authorized to speak about the criminal investigation, told The Associated Press that current or ex-staffers of the football program were among those to be interviewed. A spokesman for the attorney general's office in Harrisburg declined to comment.
The 67-year-old Sandusky, who was a longtime assistant at Penn State, is charged with 52 criminal counts related to the alleged sexual abuse of 10 boys over a 15-year period. He has denied the charges and remains out on $250,000 bail while awaiting trial.
Plans for the new interviews were first reported by The Patriot-News of Harrisburg.
Sandusky attorney Karl Rominger, when told of the interviews by a reporter, said prosecutors would not be going back to people they have already interviewed if they had nailed down the facts the first time around.
"They had years to take statements and get reliable evidence," he said. "Going back after the fact shows they did not gather, and may never be able to gather, the proof they seek. Further, it suggests to jurors that charges were brought on flawed or inadequate information in the first instance."
Also Wednesday, the presiding judge said arguments would be heard in less than three months on pretrial issues in the Sandusky case.
The two-page order by Judge John M. Cleland required the attorney general's office to turn over "informal discovery" material to Sandusky's lawyers by next Monday and set a Feb. 6 deadline for the defense team to file any discovery-related motions.
Sandusky was given until Feb. 1 to ask if he wants a trial outside Centre County or to request bringing in a jury from another county.
Other pretrial motions are due by March 1, with argument scheduled for April 5 in Bellefonte.
Prosecutors have already complied with Cleland's order that they file a formal restatement of the charges.
Rominger called Cleland's order a standard legal procedure designed to keep the case moving.
"It wouldn't surprise me that we're going to see several rounds of motions," Rominger said, adding that it was unlikely the case would go to trial before fall. ___
Scolforo reported from Harrisburg.
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Online:
Cleland order: http://bit.ly/ybrpte
