BELLEFONTE, PA - OCTOBER 09: Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky (C) leaves the Centre County Courthouse after being sentenced in his child sex abuse case on October 9, 2012 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. The 68-year-old Sandusky was sentenced to at least 30 years and not more that 60 years in prison for his conviction in June on 45 counts of child sexual abuse, including while he was the defensive coordinator for the Penn State college football team. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach convicted of child sexual abuse, continues to assert his innocence more than a decade after his conviction that sparked headlines worldwide. Speaking from Laurel Highlands State Correctional Institution, where he is serving a 30 to 60-year sentence, Sandusky claims his accusers were manipulated and motivated by financial gain.
“I never ever in my life ever thought about molesting anybody,” Sandusky told Daily Mail. “I was accused of heinous crimes, which I’ve never committed.”
Convicted in 2012 on 45 counts of child sexual abuse, Sandusky maintains he was “wrongfully convicted by inconsistent, perjured testimony.” He suggests that law enforcement and therapists coached his accusers, arguing that “nobody came forward on their own.”
Sandusky’s legal team has launched a new appeal, focusing on the use of repressed memory therapy with his accusers. His lawyers contend that this technique, which uses hypnosis to recover suppressed memories, would not be admissible in court today.
“We now have evidence that there was repressed memory therapy, and we have an expert who’s willing to testify about how to analyze what happened,” Sandusky explained.
The abuse, which allegedly occurred from 1994 to 2009, involved young men Sandusky met through Second Mile Charity, an organization he founded for at-risk youth. Victims testified that Sandusky subjected them to various forms of abuse, from grooming to violent attacks.
Penn State University has paid over $100 million to more than 30 individuals who claimed sexual abuse by Sandusky.
Dottie Sandusky, Jerry’s wife, continues to support her husband.
A hearing on Sandusky’s case is scheduled for June 26. His attorneys are also contesting his court-ordered restitution, which was initially set at nearly $98,000 but later reduced to about $44,000.
As Sandusky awaits the outcome of his latest appeal, the case continues to cast a long shadow over Penn State and the lives of those involved.
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