Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was released Thursday after 20 hours in Centre County’s jail and escorted home where he was to be equipped with an electronic monitoring device.
Sandusky’s attorney, Joseph Amendola, said Sandusky posted the $250,000 bail set by Senior District Judge Robert E. Scott by using $200,000 worth of equity in his home and $50,000 cash.
Sandusky was jailed after new charges were filed against him Wednesday alleging that he’d sexually abused two more boys. Both of the newest alleged victims came forward after Sandusky was charged Nov. 5 with sexually abusing eight boys over 15 years.
Amendola said his client maintains his innocent.
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One of the newest alleged victims, identified in a grand jury report as Victim 9, testified that he’d been sexually assaulted repeatedly in a basement bedroom in Sandusky’s home and had once cried out for help, knowing that Sandusky’s wife, Dorothy, was in the house. He told the grand jury that no one responded to his cries.
Dorothy Sandusky on Wednesday released a statement responding, in part, to that allegation.
“As the mother of six children, I have been devastated by these accusations,” she wrote. “I am also angry about these false accusations that such a terrible incident ever occurred in my home.”
She says that no child visiting their home was ever forced to stay in the basement, and all of them ate their meals with the family and other guests. The person identified as Victim 9 said in his statement that he was told to stay in the basement bedroom during his visits, had almost no contact with Dorothy Sandusky, and was even brought meals there.
“Our children, our extended family and friends know how much Jerry and I love kids and have always tried to help and care for them,” she wrote. “We would never do anything to hurt them. I am so sad anyone would make such a terrible accusation which is absolutely untrue. We don’t know why these young men have made these false accusations, but we want everyone to know they are untrue.”
The charges filed Wednesday bring to 52 the total number of felony and misdemeanor counts filed against Sandusky. All are scheduled to be addressed at his preliminary hearing, scheduled to take place Tuesday in the Centre County Courthouse.
Ed DeSabato, warden of the Centre County Correctional Facility, said Sandusky was “quiet and cooperative” during his time in jail. One of 261 inmates, Sandusky was treated to standard procedure, which DeSabato said is to place new inmates in individual cells for 48 to 72 hours, until they are assessed to determine where they should be housed.
“He was in a cell like everybody else,” DeSabato said.
The process was not completed with Sandusky, who was admitted to the jail at 4:42 p.m. Wednesday and released at 12:43 p.m. Thursday.
He used equity in his home at 130 Grandview Road in College Township to pay the bulk of his bail. The 5-bedroom home, with 2,776 square feet of space is valued at about $340,000, according to county tax records. The Sanduskys have lived there since 1984; in 1989 they were issued a permit for interior renovations to the basement, but the nature of those renovations was not specified in the permit.
He was escorted to the home by Centre County Probation and Parole. DeSabato said Probation and Parole handled setting up the electronic monitoring device. Upon his release, Sandusky is also under house arrest, and was ordered by Judge Scott to have no contact with minors.
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