‘Just like every predator.’ 10 years after arrest, Jerry Sandusky refuses to admit guilt
Convicted child sexual offender and former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky has spent nearly 12% of his life in state prison, a number that needs to nearly triple before he would be eligible for parole.
It’s been a decade since Sandusky’s Nov. 5, 2011 arrest shattered Penn State’s image and prompted the ousting of four of the most powerful people at the university.
Sandusky still maintains his innocence despite having been convicted on 45 counts of child sexual abuse charges — something often criticized by supporters of and advocates for the abused, but that comes as no surprise to abuse experts.
The Centre Daily Times mailed a letter to Sandusky ahead of the anniversary of his arrest. It contained a handful of questions, including what message he had for his victims.
He declined to answer specific questions in a handwritten note. Through a message shared by his wife, Dottie — Sandusky also replied with a 2 1/2 page typed letter asserting his innocence.
He also pointed to a podcast and the writings of several of his most ardent supporters.
“I am an innocent person, wrongfully convicted by sinister ways of deception, dishonesty and disregard. I did not commit the heinous crimes I was accused of doing,” Sandusky wrote. “... I am not the person or the ‘monster’ I’ve been portrayed to be. Yes, I’m imperfect, have made mistakes and have been naive, but I am not a criminal.”
Maintaining his innocence for 10 years
Sandusky has maintained his innocence since the day he was put in handcuffs.
State prosecutors, lawyers for those he abused and advocates for those who have been abused have long derided his refusal to admit guilt.
“A jury found, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Sandusky committed 45 criminal offenses relating to the sexual abuse of 10 boys,” a spokesperson for the state’s top prosecutor wrote in an email. “Sandusky’s latest protestations of innocence add nothing new and do nothing to undermine any confidence in his convictions, which have been upheld following multiple evidentiary hearings and appellate review.”
The CDT also shared Sandusky’s letter with Centre Safe Executive Director Anne Ard, who wrote in an email that Sandusky “sounds just like every predator out there.”
“Never having met or spoken to Sandusky, I can’t say for sure, but I think he probably believes that everything he’s said in the letter is absolutely true,” Ard wrote. “Abusers have an amazing ability not only to fool others, but also to deceive themselves.”
Convicted child abusers who profess their innocence and claim they were only caring for the child is “pretty standard stuff,” she added.
“This is why all kinds of abusers in interpersonal relationships claim that they ‘loved’ the victim whether it is a domestic violence situation or a child abuse case. They convince themselves that everything they did was for the benefit of the other,” Ard wrote. “The really insidious part (of) this is that often they work to make the victim believe this as well, saying ‘I love you’ while at the same time abusing them.”
Conviction stands after multiple appeals
Ard and attorney Tom Kline — who represented one of the boys Sandusky abused — joined the state attorney general’s office in expressing satisfaction that Sandusky’s conviction still stands after multiple appeals.
Sandusky, 77, is nine years into a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence, a penalty that judges and his lawyer have acknowledged is tantamount to life in prison.
He was resentenced in 2019 after a state appeals court said laws requiring minimum sentences at the time of his 2012 sentencing had changed. His arguments seeking a new trial were rejected.
Former state victim advocate Jennifer Storm read statements during the resentencing from five of those molested by Sandusky, who wrote of humiliation, an inability to trust others and attempts to die by suicide.
“You have destroyed my family. I cannot forgive you for that. ... You have damaged and hurt so many people,” she read on behalf of victim No. 9’s mother.
Sandusky is detained at Laurel Highlands state prison in southwestern Pennsylvania and is scheduled to be first eligible for parole in 2042.
“The evidence against Jerry Sandusky was overwhelming and consistent and consequently he was found guilty in a court of law,” Ard wrote. “Nothing he says in these letters changes that in any way.”