Two new child sex abuse investigations have been launched against former Penn state football coach Jerry Sandusky. Unlike the previous eight cases, these new alleged victims are still minors. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.
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Msnbc.com staff and wire reports
Officials with The Children and Youth Services in Pennsylvania are investigating two new cases of child abuse alleged against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, The Patriot News reported?Tuesday.
If the new allegations -- reported less than 60 days ago --?are found to be credible, it would the first known cases involving people who are still under the age of 18, the newspaper reported.
The state's Children and Youth Services only investigates reports of abuse if victims are minors. All others are handled by police agencies, according to Pennsylvania law.
Sandusky faces 40 criminal counts accusing him of sexually abusing eight boys beginning in the?mid-1990s. Authorities say some assaults happened on Penn State's campus and were reported to administrators but not to police agencies.
Sandusky has maintained his innocence.
Hearing delayed
Also on Tuesday,?a judge delayed Sandusky's preliminary hearing in the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa.
The hearing, set for Tuesday, was rescheduled for Dec. 13, according to court records. The change was made ?to accommodate the logistical needs involved in the hearing,? a posting on the courthouse website read.
Messages seeking comment from Sandusky?s attorney Joe Amendola and the state attorney general's office weren't immediately returned to msnbc.com or NBC News.
Amendola told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that he was worried that?there would be new criminal allegations against his client.
"My concern is, if they bring new charges based upon new people coming forward, that bail's going to be set and he's going to wind up in jail," Amendola said.?
Sandusky was initially released on $100,000 unsecured bail, which means he didn't have to post collateral to be freed.
Until the preliminary hearing, prosecutors can seek to have bail modified by the district judge, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin told The Associated Press. After that hearing, bail changes would have to be pursued by a county court petition, he said.
Scandal
Meantime, Pennsylvania court officials say all the judges in Penn State's home county have removed themselves from potentially presiding over the child sex-abuse case against Sandusky.
The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts announced Tuesday that out-of-county judges have been named to deal with any related court business in the Centre County case.
?The sex-abuse?allegations have stunned Penn State and altered the image of its legendary?college football coach, Joe Paterno, who was ousted amid the scandal.
Hearings for Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, the two former?Penn State administrators accused of failing to properly report suspected abuse and of?perjury before a grand jury, was set for Dec. 6 in the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg. Both maintain their innocence.
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