Ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky denies child molestation charges in interview with New York Times
In a four-hour interview, Jerry Sandusky, in addition to explaining his life’s work with children and denying charges that he molested young boys, shed light on several key aspects of the Pennsylvania attorney general’s investigation of the crimes he is accused of and the actions, or inaction, of officials at Penn State University and the Second Mile charity where Sandusky had worked for decades.
Sandusky’s potentially criminal interactions with children first came to the attention of law enforcement authorities in 1998, after the mother of an 11-year-old boy complained to the university police that Sandusky had showered with her son. How serious that investigation was, and who at Penn State was aware of it, are two questions hanging over the Sandusky case.
Sandusky, in the interview this week, said he was interviewed by the police only one time about the incident, and that the investigation was closed “within a day or two” of that interview. He said the investigation seemed to be so quickly resolved that he did not feel it necessary to inform officials at the Second Mile. The charity works with thousands of disadvantaged children every year.
He denied what has become widespread speculation — that his retirement from coaching football at Penn State in 1999 was related to the 1998 investigation; rather, he said, his retirement stemmed in part from his realization that he would never be made head coach. After the investigation, he said, university officials discussed other opportunities with him, including a position as an assistant athletic director.