One of the two new allegations of child sexual abuse against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was made by a family member, Sandusky's attorney Joe Amendola said, according to The Patriot-News of Harrisburg.
Amendola said the incident is alleged to have occurred before Sandusky was arrested earlier this month on charges he molested eight boys over a 15-year period, but was not brought to the attention of authorities until after Sandusky was charged, according to the report.
Amendola said that claim stems from a Sandusky family dispute. He characterized the other claim as an example of people trying to mimic other allegations and "jump on the bandwagon," The Associated Press reported.
"That doesn't surprise me because we believe there would be a number of copycat allegations, people who really maybe not even had direct contact with Jerry but (are now on board) to try to jump on the bandwagon," Amendola said.
He said the accusations, should they result in charges, would be vigorously contended.
Pennsylvania's Children and Youth Services agency opened preliminary investigations of the two new cases against Sandusky within the last two months, The Patriot-News reported Tuesday. If the claims are deemed credible, they would be the first allegations made against Sandusky by persons who are still children, according to the report.
In Pennsylvania, adult allegations of abuse are handled by police, even if they occurred when the accuser was a child, while CYS' involvement is triggered when allegations involve children younger than 18.
No charges have been filed in connection with the allegations being investigated by CYS.
"We'll defend those if and when they become charges," Amendola said. "We'll defend those just like we're defending the other charges."
Sandusky has maintained he is innocent of the charges made against him by a grand jury earlier this month.
Amendola has said he expected new claims would be made against his client, and that he will defend those allegations if Sandusky is charged.