UPDATE: Jerry Sandusky sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison
Serial child molester Jerry Sandusky, a former Pennsylvania State University football coach, was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison on Tuesday for abusing young, at-risk boys for more than a decade.
The sentence by Judge John Cleland in Centre County Court could put the 68-year-old retired defensive coordinator in prison for the rest of his life.
Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of child sex abuse for molesting 10 boys over 15 years, some in the football team’s showers on campus.
“I am not going to sentence you to centuries in prison even though the law allows me to do that,” Cleland said.
Sandusky’s defense attorney Joseph Amendola has said any prison term longer than 20 years would be a “life sentence” for his client and that he is preparing an appeal. Sandusky’s defense team has contended they did not have enough time to prepare for the high-profile trial.
On the eve of his sentencing, Sandusky released a statement recorded by phone on Penn State’s student radio station in which he denied he committed the “alleged disgusting acts” and said his wife has been his only sex partner.
Sandusky was accused of molesting boys he recruited through a charity he founded for at-risk youth.
