In another twist to the Penn State scandal, disgraced football coach Jerry Sandusky waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Tuesday. It was a move no one expected from the former coach, who is accused of sexually abusing 10 boys over more than a decade.

The purpose of a preliminary hearing is to establish that enough evidence exists for a case to move forward with a trial. It doesn't normally hold the significance that Sandusky's has, but his lawyer had said it was important for the football coach to face his accusers, whom he accused Tuesday of fabricating and exaggerating their allegations simply to get money. Those accusers were left shocked and wondering why, after such a long buildup and all their own stressful preparations to testify publicly against Sandusky in court, they were held off.

Sandusky's lawyer called the waiver a tactical measure and insisted it was not an admission of guilt. He reasoned that the hearing would not have provided a realistic opportunity to examine the credibility of the accusers. But lawyers for the accusers suspect the waiver increases the likelihood of a plea agreement, which would spare the accusers from testifying and give Sandusky a prison term that could have him out in less than 20 years. Lawyers for the accusers tend to agree that eliminating the stress of having to testify would be optimal, as long as they agreed that whatever sentence Sandusky was given was adequate.

Sandusky also waived his scheduled arraignment in January. His next appearance will be a pretrial conference in March, until which time he will be on house arrest and forced to wear an ankle monitor.

Source: New York Times, "Sandusky Changes Course and Waives Preliminary Hearing," Jere Longman and Nate Schweber, Dec. 13, 2011