Jerry Sandusky Has a Brave Lawyer
Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State defensive coordinator charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse of children is talking to the media again. First, he talked to Bob Costas on national television, a surprising move, given the way defendants in high-profile criminal cases would usually be lawyered up and quiet.
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Now comes a lengthy interview and video with Jo Becker of The New York Times. And it's gripping from the opening frames, when Sandusky declares, "These allegations are false. I didn't ... do those things." The long pause, as he appears to struggle for a word, will probably do nothing to dissuade those who are already convinced of his guilt.
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Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who lost his job in the Sandusky scandal, never confronted him about accusations of abuse, Sandusky says. And that will do nothing to deter critics of Paterno and other Penn State administrators, who appear to have been less than urgent in addressing claims of shocking abuse.
As for Mr. Paterno, Mr. Sandusky said the two never spoke about any incidents, not the episode in 2002 or an earlier complaint of child molestation made against Mr. Sandusky in 1998 that was investigated by the Penn State campus police.
“I never talked to him about either one,” Mr. Sandusky said of Mr. Paterno. “That’s all I can say. I mean, I don’t know.”
Mr. Paterno, through his son, Scott, has denied knowing about the 1998 investigation at the time it happened.
“He’s the only one who knows whether anybody ever said anything to him,” Mr. Sandusky said of Mr. Paterno.
The article paints a now-isolated man, one who swears his work with and for children has been misconstrued. He is left searching for comfort and sympathy from the family dog.
“I used to have a lot of contact with a lot of people and so that circle is diminished, and as it diminished, you know Bo is still there,” he said of his dog. “And I swear he understands. I swear he knows. And you know I love him dearly for that.”
