Joseph McGettigan, prosecutor in Jerry Sandusky and John du Pont cases, dies at 76

Joseph McGettigan III, a Pennsylvania prosecutor known for convicting Jerry Sandusky and John du Pont, has died at the age of 76.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Joseph E. McGettigan III, a Pennsylvania prosecutor who obtained criminal convictions against Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky and chemical heir John du Pont, has died at age 76.

McGettigan, who lived in the Philadelphia suburb of Media, died Dec. 31, according to Boyd Horrox Givnish Life Celebration Home in East Norriton.

He was a senior assistant attorney general when he was lead prosecutor in Sandusky’s child molestation trial in 2012. During closing arguments, McGettigan showed jurors photos of eight of Sandusky’s victims as children, all of whom had taken the stand.

“He assaulted, abused and horribly injured these children,” McGettigan said. “He knows he did it, and you know he did it. Find him guilty of everything.” Sandusky was found guilty of 45 of 48 counts.

McGettigan was an assistant Delaware County district attorney when he prosecuted du Pont, who was convicted of third-degree murder but of mental illness in the death of Olympic gold medal freestyle wrestler David Schultz at du Pont’s palatial estate outside Philadelphia in 1996. Schultz came to live and train in a state-of-the-art training facility that du Pont had built on his property.

Du Pont died in a Pennsylvania prison in 2010 at the age of 72. Sandusky, 81, is currently serving a 30- to 60-year sentence in state prison.

McGettigan’s work as a prosecutor, which also included a stint in Philadelphia, often involved murder and child molestation cases. Most recently, he was a lawyer in private practice, working notably on behalf of victims of crime.

Survivors include his wife, Gay Warren; his mother, Ruth L. McGettigan; and six brothers and sisters.