( CNN ) -- After three days of testimony , the details and accounts from the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse trial are , improbably , even more chilling and horrific than could have been imagined . Multiple accusers , now grown men , have broken down on the witness stand describing acts of forced oral sex and intercourse , threats and manipulation . Another witness left the courthouse with a black bag over his head , such , presumably , was his level of shame and embarrassment . We respect the judicial process and the presumption of innocence . Yet calling these witnesses `` alleged '' victims , as we must absent a verdict , nonetheless feels callous . While no one would dare imply that his suffering is akin to that of a sexual assault victim , another figure damaged in this sordid scandal took the stand on Tuesday , bolstering the prosecution 's case : Mike McQueary . Jerry Sandusky trial : All you need to know . It is McQueary , of course , who has played a -- perhaps , the -- crucial role in the Penn State narrative since the story broke in November . Then a graduate assistant for the Nittany Lions football team , McQueary was at the Lasch Football Building in 2001 , when he heard what he described as `` skin-on-skin smacking sound '' coming from the shower facility . Using a mirror , McQueary could see Sandusky standing behind a boy `` propped up against a wall '' performing a sexual act . Though almost 6 feet 5 inches , and 30 years Sandusky 's junior , McQueary did not physically intervene or call the police . He chose only to slam a locker door , as he testified , in hopes of breaking up the incident . The following day , after conferring with his father , McQueary reported what he saw to Joe Paterno , the team 's revered coach . Paterno then waited another day to speak to the athletic director . The athletic director then talked to a superior , who relayed the incident to university president Graham Spanier . The allegation lost severity with each retelling . An act initially described as man-on-boy intercourse had become horseplay that made a witness `` uncomfortable . '' Initially , McQueary was cast as a villain , the embodiment of the banality of evil . How could he not have confronted Sandusky that evening ? Or at least called the cops ? And how could he have remained silent as he saw Sandusky in the same football facility and at various functions , sometimes in the company of young boys ? As of last fall , McQueary was a prominent Penn State assistant coach . Since then , he has been placed on administrative leave by the school . His coaching career , to say nothing of his reputation , is in tatters . But recently , McQueary has become , at a minimum , a more complex figure . As we have learned more about the insularity of the Penn State football program , McQueary 's inaction that evening becomes , if not altogether understandable , at least somewhat easier to comprehend . What 's more , CNN is among the news outlets reporting that Gary Schultz , Penn State 's former vice president for finance and business , kept a secret file on Sandusky that included e-mails among administrators about inappropriate behavior . This not only contradicts previous statements by administrators ; it suggests that McQueary 's initial statements in 2001 were more forceful and clear than they 've been portrayed . Asked about the incident in the trial , McQueary admitted , `` I 've said repeatedly I did n't do anything physically to stop it . It 's been well publicized ... Did I pull the boy out of there , did I physically go and assault anybody , did I remove him ? ... Physically [ I ] did n't remove the young boy from the shower or go and punch Jerry out . '' McQueary went on to assert that , after 2001 , he was so repulsed by Sandusky he could n't occupy the same room , so much so that other members of the football staff took notice . Why , he was asked , did n't he quit ? `` I would never resign from Penn State University , '' he said . As heart-rending as the victims ' testimony has been , McQueary 's firm and unambiguous account could be just as damaging to Sandusky . The defense will argue that the accusers have embellished their stories , motivated by the financial gain of a civil suit . In the case of McQueary , now 37 , it 's hard to argue there 's a profit motive . Plus , having another adult corroborate the accounts of the many witnesses undermines the defense 's claims of conspiracy among the victims . More than a decade ago , McQueary 's failure to act with sufficient conviction may have permitted a serial sexual abuser to continue on . If McQueary 's honest testimony enables a jury to convict Sandusky , at least he will have made the most of his second opportunity to do the right thing . Alleged victims testify as Sandusky prosecution prepares to rest . Alleged Sandusky victim details abuse . Prosecutors : Sandusky file contradicts officials ' testimony . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jon Wertheim .
Judge Wertheim : Images from the murder trial are chilling and horrific . Judge : Mike McQueary has a second chance to do the right thing . He says McQueary was intended as a villain , but he 's more complex as details emerge . Wertheim : Mike 's account could be very damaging to Sandusky .