After jurors deliberated for 21 hours…Jerry Sandusky has been found guilty on 45 counts in his child abuse case. Now, his sentencing is just weeks away & he will face life in prison. Hit the jump for details.
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania (CNN) — Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was found guilty on Friday night on 45 of 48 counts related to sexual abuse of boys over a 15-year period.
Jurors delivered the verdict around 10 p.m. after deliberating for about 21 hours.
Sandusky’s 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.
Sandusky, 68, had pleaded not guilty to the 48 charges of child sex abuse that spanned a 15-year period.
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.
The broader scandal led to the November firing of iconic head football coach Joe Paterno, the dismissal of university president Graham Spanier and brought charges against vice president Gary Schultz and former Athletic Director Tim Curley for perjury and failing to report the abuse.
During grand jury testimony, Paterno said that he was told by a graduate assistant that Sandusky was in the showers “fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy.”
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