Jury finds Jerry Sandusky guilty on 45 of 48 child sex abuse charges

Like it? Share it!

Jury finds Jerry Sandusky guilty on 45 of 48 child sex abuse charges

Just an hour ago, jurors in the trial of former Penn State football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky delivered their verdict to the court, finding Sandusky guilty as fuck on 45 of 48 charges. Not terribly surprising, considering the prosecution spent days filling the courtroom with awful tales of rape and sexual abuse at the hands of the man who was supposed to be their mentor, while the defense pretty much had nothing.

Sandusky stood slightly hunched, looking down with his hand in his pocket but showing no visible emotion as the guilty verdicts were read out in court. His wife, Dottie, blinked back tears. Judge John Cleland revoked Sandusky’s bail and ordered his arrest. Video showed him leaving the courthouse in handcuffs and heading into an awaiting police car destined for the Centre County jail. He didn’t say anything as reporters asked “if he had anything to say to the victims.”

“We knew whatever the jury’s verdict was we would honor it,” said Karl Rominger, one of the defense lawyers. “Jerry rose. I saw tears in his eyes.”

Back inside the courtroom, the young man identified as court documents as Victim 6 was in tears as he hugged prosecutors.

Sandusky should be sentenced in about 90 days, the judge said.

His case gripped the nation and led to the dismissal of a legendary coach and one of America’s highest-paid university presidents, while his trial included gripping and at times graphic testimony from his victims.

During closing arguments, prosecutors described the ex-Nittany Lions defensive coordinator as a pedophile who preyed on victims using a charity he founded for troubled children, repeatedly abusing young boys in his care.

His defense sought to poke holes in the prosecution’s case throughout the trial, such as pointing to inconsistencies in the testimony of Mike McQueary, a former graduate assistant who testified that he witnessed Sandusky apparently sodomizing a boy in a university shower.

Defense attorney Joe Amendola reminded jurors of the lack of physical evidence in the case, accusing the alleged victims of conspiring for financial gain, while also blaming the media for what he described as biased coverage.

Lead prosecutor Joseph McGettigan rebuffed those arguments, telling jurors that “the commonwealth has overwhelming evidence against Mr. Sandusky.”

In a bombshell announcement Thursday evening, Matt Sandusky — one of Jerry Sandusky’s six adopted children — said through his attorney that he was sexually abused by the former Penn State assistant football coach, adding that he had been prepared to testify against him. Legal analysts say the accusation could bring additional charges, including incest charges, against the former coach.

Via