Former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky maintains his innocence 12 years after conviction on sexual assault charges

Twelve years after being convicted on a slew of sex crimes and sentenced to 60 years in prison, Jerry Sandusky maintains that he is innocent. The former Penn State coach was found guilty in 2012 on 45 counts of sexual abuse.  

Speaking with the Daily Mail from the Laurel Highlands State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania, the 80-year-old claimed he "never committed" the crimes in question, and that his numerous accusers had been "coached" to say certain things during the trial. He said he "never ... thought about molesting anybody," and believes he was "wrongfully convicted by inconsistent, perjured testimony." 

In 2012, a jury found the former Penn State football coach guilty on 45 counts of sexual abuse of 10 boys. 

"I was in disbelief in terms of how this happened," Sandusky told the outlet. "Why were [the accusers] saying things that were so inconsistent with what they had said before?" He claimed his legal team had "evidence" that the prosecution had employed "repressed memory therapy," and that an expert has agreed to testify on the subject should their latest motion for a new trial be granted. They petitioned for a retrial in 2013, but that request was immediately denied. 

Sandusky went on to suggest that some of his accusers, 34 of whom received payouts from Penn State to the tune of $63.1 million, testified the way they did for financial reasons. "They turned that down for an easy road with allegations and to make millions of dollars," he claimed. "That's not going to bring them happiness. That's very unfortunate for them. I don't know that much about how they're living ... but maybe they ought to think about what they've done and all the people who have been hurt." His accusers have maintained that their testimony was factual, and in the years since, more alleged victims have come forward.