Jerry Sandusky: Former Penn State coach denies committing sex abuse as he launches appeal

Sandusky, who waived his right to testify in 2012, says he was improperly represented by his defence

AP

Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach convicted of serial child molestation charges that spanned decades, claimed his innocence in an appeals hearing in a Pennsylvania court.

Sandusky, 72, did not testify in the 2012 trial, which concluded with a jury convicting him of 45 counts of child abuse, but he now claims it was never his choice to waive that right.

He is hoping to have the conviction thrown out because of improper representation by his defence team.

Among the claims by Sandusky are that his lawyer, Joe Amendola, did not properly prepare him for an interview with NBC’s Bob Costas, which prosecutors used against him in the trial.

Sandusky denied that he had ever engaged in various sexual acts with young boys before his 1999 retirement, and echoed a statement he made during his sentencing.

“That idea is totally foreign to me and disgusting, something I never would have thought of or engaged in,” he said on Friday.

During the 2012 trial, eight men testified that Sandusky sexually abused them while serving as assistant coach for Penn State under coach Joe Paterno, who was fired as a result of the scandal. Court documents revealed that Paterno apparently knew about Sandusky as far back as the 1970s.

Sandusky was accused of using his charity for at-risk youth to prey on victims.

“Mr Sandusky will submit that he did not start The Second Mile in order to groom victims,” his attorneys said in appeal filings. “He will testify regarding how often the accusers would stay at his home and if they stayed with other children.”

The attorney general’s office stands by the outcomes of the 2012 trial and called Sandusky’s claims “meritless”.

The hearing is scheduled to continue on 22 August and 23 August and could result in a new trial or outright dismissal for Mr Sandusky.

Sandusky is currently serving 30 to 60 years in state prison. Since the scandal, Penn State has paid out $93m to 3o men who said Sandusky abused them.