For the second time, ex-Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky receives maximum sentence
Former Penn State Nittany Lions assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced Friday to at least 30 years in state prison for crimes that have cost the university more than $100 million and prompted changes to state law.
Warren and Forest County President Judge Maureen Skerda resentenced him to the same penalty he received in 2012, which carries a maximum of 60 years in prison.
He donned an ochre state prison jumpsuit during his first visit to the courthouse since 2017 — a modest change from the red Centre County Correctional Facility jumpsuit he wore during previous visits — and told reporters he “absolutely” maintains his innocence.
“I apologize that I’m unable to admit remorse for this because it’s something I didn’t do,” Sandusky told Skerda. “... No matter what, nobody or nothing will ever be able to take away what’s in my heart.”
Sandusky was found guilty in June 2012 of 45 counts of child sexual abuse, convicted of molesting 10 boys over a 15-year period. The state Superior Court in February ruled mandatory minimums were improperly applied in 2012 and ordered a new sentencing.
He met many of the boys he abused through The Second Mile, a now-defunct program he founded for at-risk children. He methodically built their trust by offering his attention and involved them in the university’s revered football culture, a grand jury found.
None of those abused by Sandusky, who received credit for more than seven years served, addressed Skerda. That was left to state victim advocate Jennifer Storm.
She read statements from five of those molested by Sandusky. They wrote of humiliation, an inability to trust others and attempted suicides.
“You have destroyed my family. I cannot forgive you for that. … You have damaged and hurt so many people,” Storm read on behalf of victim No. 9’s mother. “Shame on you. Shame on you, Mr. Sandusky, for your selfish, narcissistic acts.”
Many were hoping for either the same or increased sentence because they “felt he got off pretty leniently the first time,” Storm said after the hearing.
“His failure to accept responsibility and his continual appeals and have to constantly thrust this case into the headlines has caused these victims more trauma and more pain and they did not wish to suffer or endure that anymore,” she said.
Their statements came after Sandusky’s lawyer, Al Lindsay, said he still hopes for a new trial so Sandusky can be exonerated. He called the hearing one of the most important in his 48-year career.
“I cannot have him address remorse. I can’t have him talk about how he’s a changed man because it just doesn’t fit,” Lindsay said. “If he’s telling the truth ... this is the worst injustice in the history of American jurisprudence.”
Sandusky has spent more than five years in solitary confinement at Laurel Highlands state prison in Somerset County, Lindsay said.
Pennsylvania Senior Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Buck told Skerda “nothing has changed” since 2012 to warrant a new sentence. Sandusky was slapped with at least four misconduct violations and filed at least six grievances alleging unfair treatment during his time at the prison, Buck said.
“There’s a common theme that runs through this — blaming others, failing to accept responsibility,” she said.
Sandusky responded with a four-minute jeremiad heard by about 60 people in the courtroom, including his wife, Dottie. He choked up twice in his remarks to Skerda and told his supporters he loves them.
Lindsay and defense lawyer Robert Buttner said they plan to “continue fighting” Sandusky’s convictions in either state or federal court.
“We’re disappointed. We were hopeful we’d get a better sentence; it didn’t work out,” Lindsay said after the hearing. “I can’t say that we’re really surprised. We didn’t think that there was that much that changed.”
Penn State police in October said they were investigating a new allegation of sexual abuse by Sandusky. Lindsay is “anxious to defend” against the allegation, but acknowledged Sandusky is already hampered with a life sentence.
“Justice was again achieved for his victims and they can close this chapter knowing that this predator will remain behind bars for the rest of his life,” state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement. “My office is dedicated to protecting children in Pennsylvania and holding those who hurt them accountable no matter how powerful or connected.”
Sandusky’s November 2011 arrest prompted the university to fire Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno and the ousting of then-university President Graham Spanier.
Former Athletic Director Tim Curley and former Vice President Gary Schultz, two of Spanier’s top administrators, were charged over their response to reports of sexual abuse by Sandusky.
Both pleaded guilty to child endangerment in March 2017 for failing to notify authorities in 2001 of a report about Sandusky and a boy in a team shower. Each served jail sentences.
Spanier was convicted of one misdemeanor count of child endangerment that same month, though a federal judge in April dismissed it, finding he was improperly charged under a 2007 law for actions that occurred in 2001. Shapiro’s office is appealing that ruling.
This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 11:39 AM.