Ex-Penn St. Asst. Sandusky convicted of abuse

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — Jerry Sandusky was convicted Friday of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years, accusations that shattered the Happy Valley image of Penn State football and led to the firing of Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno.

Sandusky, a 68-year-old retired defensive coach who was once Paterno's heir apparent, was found guilty of 45 of 48 counts.

Sandusky showed little emotion as the verdict was read. The judge ordered him to be taken to the county jail to await sentencing in about three months. Many of the charges carry mandatory minimum sentences and Sandusky is certain to spend the rest of his life in prison.

The judge revoked Sandusky's bail and ordered him jailed. In court, Sandusky half-waved toward family as the sheriff led him away. Outside, he calmly walked to a sheriff's car with his hands cuffed in front of him.

The accuser known in court papers as Victim 6 broke down in tears upon hearing the verdicts in the courtroom. Afterward, a prosecutor embraced him and said, "Did I ever lie to you?"

The man, now 25, testified that Sandusky called himself the "tickle monster" in a shower assault. He declined to comment to a reporter afterward.

His mother said: "Nobody wins. We've all lost."

Almost immediately after the judge adjourned, loud cheers could be heard from a couple hundred people gathered outside the courthouse as word quickly spread that Sandusky had been convicted. The crowd included victim advocates and local residents with their kids. Many held up their smartphones to take pictures as people filtered out of the building.

As Sandusky was placed in the cruiser to be taken to jail, someone yelled at him to "rot in hell." Others hurled insults and he shook his head no in response.

Defense attorney Joe Amendola was interrupted by cheers from the crowd on courthouse steps when he said, "The sentence that Jerry will receive will be a life sentence."

Eight young men testified in a central Pennsylvania courtroom about a range of abuse, from kissing and massages to groping, oral sex and anal rape. For two other alleged victims, prosecutors relied on testimony from a university janitor and then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary, whose account of a sexual encounter between Sandusky and a boy of about 10 ultimately led to the Paterno's dismissal and the university president's ouster.

Sandusky did not take the stand in his own defense.

After the verdict was announced, defense attorney Karl Rominger said it was "a tough case" with a lot of charges and that an appeal was certain. He said the defense team "didn't exactly have a lot of time to prepare."

Amendola said: "The jury acted in good faith. The jury acted on the evidence presented to it. We had a good jury."

Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly thanked the accusers who testified, calling them "brave men."

She said she hoped the verdict "helps these victims heal ... and helps other victims of abuse to come forward."

She said: "One of the recurring themes in this case was, 'Who would believe a kid?' The answer is 'We here in Bellefonte, Pa., would believe a kid."

The ex-coach had repeatedly denied the allegations, and his defense suggested that his accusers had a financial motive to make up stories, years after the fact. His attorney also painted Sandusky as the victim of overzealous police investigators who coached the alleged victims into giving accusatory statements.

But jurors believed the testimony that, in the words of lead prosecutor Joseph McGettigan III, Sandusky was a "predatory pedophile."

One accuser testified that Sandusky molested him in the locker-room showers and in hotels while trying to ensure his silence with gifts and trips to bowl games. He also said Sandusky had sent him "creepy love letters."

Another spoke of forced oral sex and instances of rape in the basement of Sandusky's home, including abuse that left him bleeding. He said he once tried to scream for help, knowing that Sandusky's wife was upstairs, but figured the basement must be soundproof.

Another, a foster child, said Sandusky warned that he would never see his family again if he ever told anyone what happened.

And just hours after the case went to jurors, lawyers for one of Sandusky's six adopted children, Matt, said he had told authorities that his father abused him.

Matt Sandusky had been prepared to testify on behalf of prosecutors, the statement said. The lawyers said they arranged for Matt Sandusky to meet with law enforcement officials but did not explain why he didn't testify.

"This has been an extremely painful experience for Matt and he has asked us to convey his request that the media respect his privacy," the statement said. It didn't go into details about his allegations.

Defense witnesses, including Jerry Sandusky's wife, Dottie, described his philanthropic work with children over the years, and many spoke in positive terms about his reputation in the community. Prosecutors had portrayed those efforts as an effective means by which Sandusky could

camouflage his molestation as he targeted boys who were the same age as participants in The Second Mile, a charity he founded in the 1970s for at-risk youth.

Sandusky's arrest in November led the Penn State trustees to fire Paterno as head coach, saying he exhibited a lack of leadership after fielding a report from McQueary. The scandal also led to the ouster of university president Graham Spanier, and criminal charges against two university administrators for failing to properly report suspected child abuse and perjury.

The two administrators, athletic director Tim Curley and now-retired vice president Gary Schultz, are fighting the allegations and await trial.

Sandusky had initially faced 52 counts of sex abuse. The judge dropped four counts during the trial, saying two were unproven, one was brought under a statute that didn't apply and another was duplicative.

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Here's a breakdown, by victim, of what he was found guilty of doing and the three counts of which he was acquitted:

—Victim 1: Sandusky was accused of fondling him and performing oral sex on him multiple times, in his home and State College hotels. The boy was 11-15 years old at the time. Sandusky was barred from his central Pennsylvania high school in 2009 after the boy's mother alerted school officials, triggering the investigation that produced charges. Sandusky was found guilty of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse (two counts), indecent assault, unlawful contact with minor, corruption of minors, endangering a child's welfare.

—Victim 2: A boy of about 10 that a graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, has said he saw being attacked by Sandusky in the team showers in February 2001. Investigators have not been able to determine the boy's identity. McQueary reported what he saw to head coach Joe Paterno, and Paterno's handling of it contributed to the university's decision to fire him shortly after Sandusky was arrested in November. Sandusky was found guilty of indecent assault, unlawful contact with minor, corruption of minors, endangering a child's welfare. He was acquitted of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.

—Victim 3: Sandusky was accused of hugging him in the shower and fondling him between July 1999 and December 2001, at Sandusky's home and in team showers. The boy was 12-14. Sandusky was found guilty of indecent assault, unlawful contact with minor, corruption of minors, endangering a child's welfare.

—Victim 4: Prosecutors said more than 50 incidents occurred between 1996 and 2000, at the Sandusky home, hotels and university facilities while the boy was 12-17. He also traveled with the Sandusky family to bowl games in Texas and Florida. Sandusky was convicted of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, unlawful contact with minor, corruption of minors, endangering a child's welfare.

—Victim 5: Sandusky put his hand on the boy's leg while in a car, they showered together and he placed the boy's hand on his genitals, according to his testimony in court. The alleged incident occurred in August 2001, while the boy was 12 or 13. Sandusky was convicted of unlawful contact with minor, corruption of minors, endangering a child's welfare. He was acquitted of indecent assault.

—Victim 6: While showering together in May 1998, he testified that Sandusky grabbed him and said, "I'm going to squeeze your guts out" and that the ex-coach said he was the "tickle monster." The boy's mother complained when he came home with wet hair, prompting a police investigation at the time that did not result in charges. The boy was 11. Sandusky was found guilty of unlawful contact with minor, corruption of minors, endangering a child's welfare. He was acquitted of indecent assault,

—Victim 7: They showered together and Sandusky bear hugged him in 1995-96, and more than once he put his hands down the waistband of the boy's pants, according to the grand jury. Sandusky did not touch his genitals, the jury said. The boy was 9-11. Sandusky was found guilty of attempted indecent assault, corruption of minors, endangering a child's welfare.

—Victim 8: Boy of about 11 to 13, seen in late November 2000 by a university janitor allegedly being subjected to sexual abuse by Sandusky in the team showers. The janitor now has dementia and is not available to testify, but a co-worker testified to what the janitor told him. The boy has not been identified by investigators. Sandusky was convicted of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, unlawful contact with minor, corruption of minors, endangering a child's welfare.

—Victim 9: Now 18, he testified that he was sexually abused by Sandusky at the Sandusky home where he spent more than a hundred nights in a room in the basement that had a waterbed. He testified he was subject to oral then anal sex and screamed for help. He was also abused in a State College hotel and other locations between July 2005 and December 2008, according to prosecutors. He was 12-15 at the time. Sandusky was convicted of