Jerry Sandusky, a convicted child molester and former football coach at Penn State, reaffirmed his innocence on Friday, following news that one of his accusers intends to retract his testimony.
During an interview from a Pennsylvania state prison with ABC6, Sandusky asserted that his alleged victims fabricated accusations of sexual abuse for financial gain and to tarnish his reputation.
“This is the worst experience of my life,” he lamented.
He claimed, “I am an innocent man, and I have been convicted by so many people with their own personal agendas, and this was an opportunity to take advantage of a tremendous personal gain.”
The 82-year-old expressed a desire to prove his innocence to his grandchildren. “I want to be home in the worst way, and I want my grandkids to know the truth,” he added, suggesting that the financial settlements from Penn State and pressure from prosecutors prompted victims to come forward.
“Money became such a huge motive for everybody, and they incentivized the accusers and led them,” he stated. “Without leading, the accusers in the beginning didn’t make allegations.”
Currently, Sandusky is serving a 30 to 60-year sentence after being found guilty on 45 counts of child sexual abuse, which include grooming and violent acts against ten boys. The abuse occurred between 1994 and 2009 and involved boys he met through his charity, Second Mile, aimed at helping at-risk youth.
Sandusky is scheduled to return to court on September 8 for an evidentiary hearing where one accuser plans to testify that he was not sexually abused by Sandusky and that prosecutors had influenced his initial testimony.
This accuser, identified as “Victim 10,” claims in an affidavit that he was persuaded by prosecutors to alter his testimony during the pretrial process, suggesting that trauma may have affected his memory of the events.
“[T]hroughout the pretrial process, I was told — both directly and indirectly — that trauma may have fragmented my memory,” he stated in the affidavit.
Sandusky’s new legal team is seeking a retrial, claiming that Victim 10’s estranged wife could verify that her ex-husband was not abused by him. They plan to argue that Sandusky was provided ineffective legal counsel and that the prosecutors allegedly used “psychological manipulation” to convince accusers that they had been assaulted.
Sandusky has consistently maintained his innocence over the years. “I never ever in my life ever thought about molesting anybody. My wife was my only partner in sex and that was after marriage,” he shared with the Daily Mail earlier in 2024.
As of now, the Pennsylvania State Attorney General’s Office has not provided a comment on the situation.
