BELLEFONTE – Less than one year after the grand jury report that led to his arrest, former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison for his conviction of 45 counts of child sexual abuse.
The 68-year-old Sandusky made a 15-minute statement in the Centre County Courthouse. Three victims also addressed the court during the sentencing hearing.
For the next 10 days, Sandusky will be lodged at the Centre County Jail and then he will be transferred to another facility.
The Sandusky case led to the firings of Penn State University head football coach Joe Paterno and University President Graham Spanier. It also led to lawsuits and hard sanctions imposed on the university.
Sandusky’s defense attorney Joe Amendola told WJAC-TV after a closed-door pre-sentencing hearing Monday afternoon that Sandusky likely won’t contest a sexually violent predator hearing.
“Jerry has always said his mistake was using bad judgment and doing some of the things that led up to the accusations (like) shower(ing) with kids,” Amendola said. “He said he should have realized that, that was not the thing to do. But he has always maintained and still maintains his innocence.”
Sandusky and his attorneys have maintained his innocence and plan to appeal.
Late Monday afternoon, Penn State Com Radio aired a three-minute audio recording of Sandusky from inside the Centre County Correctional Facility. In the statement, Sandusky said he knows in his heart that he did not do what he called “these alleged disgusting acts” and described himself as the victim of Penn State, investigators, civil attorneys, the media and others.
In the monologue, Sandusky said:
“I’m responding to the worst loss of my life. First, I looked at myself. Over and over, I asked why? Why didn’t we have a fair opportunity to prepare for trial? Why have so many people suffered as a result of false allegations? What’s the purpose? Maybe it will help others; some vulnerable children who could be abused, might not be because of all the publicity. That would be nice, but I’m not sure about it.
“I would cherish the opportunity to become a candle for others, as they have been a light for me. They could take away my life, they could make me out as a monster, they could treat me as a monster, but they can’t take away my heart. In my heart, I know I did not do these alleged disgusting acts.
“My wife has been my only sex partner that was after marriage. Our love continues.
“A young man who was dramatic a veteran accuser, and always sought attention, started everything. He was joined by a well-orchestrated effort of the media, investigators, the system, Penn State, psychologists, civil attorneys and other accusers. They won. I’ve wondered what they really won: Attention, financial gain, prestige and will all be temporary.
“Before you blame me, as others have, look at everything and everybody. Look at the preparation for the trial and the trial. Compare it to others. Think about what happened. Why, and who made it happen? Evaluate the accusers and their families. Realize they didn’t come out of isolation. The accusers were products of many more people and experiences than me. Look at their confidants and their honesty. Think about how easy it was for them to turn on me given the information, attention and potential perks. I never labeled or put down them or their families. I tried and I cared, then asked for the same.
“Please realize all came to The Second Mile because of issues. Some of those may remain.
“We will continue to fight. We didn’t lose the proven facts, evidence, accurate locations and times. Anything can be said. We lost to speculation and stories that were influenced by people who wanted to convict me. We must fight unfairness and consistency and dishonesty. People need to be portrayed for who they really are. We’ve not been complainers. When we couldn’t have kids, we adopted. When we didn’t have time to prepare for a trial, we still gave it our best. We will fight for another chance. We have given many second chances, and now we’ll ask for one. It will take more than our effort.
“Justice will have to be more than just a word; fairness more than just a dream. It will take others: somebody apolitical with the courage to listen, to think about the unfairness, to have the guts to stand up and take the road less traveled. I ask for the strength to handle everything and willingness to surrender only to God, regardless of the outcome.”
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