BELLEFONTE — After the jury found Jerry Sandusky to be a serial pedophile, the mother of the young man known as Victim 6 embraced her son.
Despite the cheers outside the Centre County Courthouse that accompanied the announcement that Sandusky was headed to prison, quite probably for the rest of his life, she couldn’t celebrate.
“Nobody wins,” she said. “We’ve all lost.”
But on Friday night, Sandusky lost, too.
After two days of deliberations, the jury found Sandusky guilty of 45 of 48 counts of child sex abuse against 10 boys over 14 years.
The 68-year-old Sandusky left the courthouse in disgrace and handcuffs, headed to Centre County Prison. His maximum sentence would exceed more than four centuries.
Sandusky was once a hero. As defensive coordinator of Penn State's football team, he helped the Nittany Lions to two national championships. He gained even more admiration when he formed a children's charity, The Second Mile. Through much of his adult life, Sandusky reveled in the cheers of the crowd.
On Friday, the crowd of several hundred outside the courthouse gave rousing cheers when he was found guilty.
Sandusky's attorney, Joe Amendola, pledged to appeal the verdict, but didn't elaborate on the grounds for appeal. But he said his client is not frightened about the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison.
“He’s not scared,” Amendola said. “He has said to himself based on the circumstances and the weight of the evidence against him, this was the likely outcome.”
Even Amendola acknowledged the uphill court battle. A few hours before the verdict was announced, the defense attorney said he would "probably die of a heart attack" if Sandusky would be acquitted of all charges. The verdict might mark a milestone in what is perhaps the biggest scandal ever in college sports.
But it’s not over yet.
Acting Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly, who appeared at the Centre County Courthouse, made clear that prosecutors aren't done.
“This is an ongoing investigation,” Kelly said.
Other cases loom, and attention will now turn to the cases directly involving Penn State University.
Two former Penn State administrators — Tim Curley and Gary Schultz — are charged with lying to the grand jury that investigated the child sex abuse accusations against Jerry Sandusky.
Schultz, the former university vice president, and Curley, the athletic director on administrative leave, also are charged with failing to report allegations of child abuse. Both maintain their innocence.
A judge has scheduled a 1 p.m. July 11 hearing for Curley and Schultz.
'An important milestone'
The jurors — seven women and five men — filed into the courtroom just before 10 p.m.. Most made every effort to avoid looking at the defense or prosecution tables.
A poker-faced Judge John M. Cleland reviewed the verdict slips, handed them back to the foreman, and Sandusky’s reign of abuse came to an end.
Sandusky looked resigned to his fate from the moment he entered court. He lowered his head slightly as the first few verdicts were issued. He then gathered himself and stared blankly through the rest of the proceeding.
It’s a security step the prison takes for all inmates committed for serious sex crimes. They’re usually in lockdown with very little movement throughout the facility, Elbell said.
Even his meals will be eaten in isolation. The solid doors in the sex offenders’ unit have pass-throughs for food, Elbell said.
It is a startling turn but fitting end, some said, for a man once held up as the kind of coach every parent would want their child to learn from.
He is now deemed a sexual predator who, despite several close escapes and free passes over the years, seemingly could not prevent his lust for young boys from turning him into the kind of monster capable of destroying a childhood.
And while prosecutors continue investigations, for the parent of one victim, there could be some satisfaction, and possibly even some closure.
“I think it’s finally over,” said Victim 1’s mother. “It’s been a long time. I think it’s finally over.”
BY CHARLES THOMPSON, SARA GANIM, AND MATTHEW KEMENY, The Patriot-News