Prosecutors want Sandusky to stay inside his house

Prosecutors on Tuesday asked a judge to order Jerry Sandusky to stay inside his Centre County home until his trial on child sex-abuse charges, saying neighbors and teachers at a nearby elementary school complained about seeing the former football coach outside watching kids play.

"In order to allay the genuine fears of the community, defendant should be confined to his house," Senior Deputy Attorney General Jonelle Eshbach wrote to Judge John M. Cleland.

The request marked the latest salvo between prosecutors and Sandusky's lawyer over the bail conditions for the former Pennsylvania State University football coach accused of molesting 10 boys between 1994 and 2008. Sandusky, 68, has been under house arrest and subject to electronic monitoring since December.

His lawyer, Joseph Amendola, last month asked the judge to let Sandusky have supervised visits with his friends and grandchildren, and to be permitted to travel to meet with his lawyer and case investigators.

In their filing, prosecutors objected to the request, and asked a judge to tighten the restrictions on Sandusky.

"House arrest is not meant to be a house party," their filing said. "The commonwealth believes that (the) defendant should be in jail."

They said his College Township home is close to a playground and an elementary school, and that neighbors and others have expressed concern that Sandusky is free to roam on his property.

Eschbach included a Jan. 26 letter to the Centre County parole and probation department from a state agent who outlined the concerns of Sandusky's neighbors. The agent cited a teacher and school intern who were distressed to see Sandusky outside during a recess on a recent day.

"They had both witnessed Mr. Sandusky on his house rear deck watching the children play," the letter said.

Amendola did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. The issue is one of several the judge is scheduled to consider at a pretrial hearing on Friday.