The Malleability of Memory and the Conviction of Jerry Sandusky

Burlington science writer Mark Pendergrast will present his new book on the trial of Jerry Sandusky. This former Penn State football coach, convicted in 2012, has become the most notorious serial pedophile in American history. Yet Sandusky claims to be innocent and seeks a retrial. In The Most Hated Man in America, Pendergrast documents that much of the victim testimony against Sandusky was obtained through repressed-memory therapy. In his talk, Pendergrast will explain why many scholars reject repressed-memory claims as junk science. He will also explain how different these are from the victim testimonies driving the #MeToo movement and the conviction of Dr. Larry Nasser.