Jerry Sandusky found guilty

Friday night the jury in Penn State former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky molestation case found Sandusky guilty on 45 counts of the 48 remaining counts against him.  He faces a possible 450 years in prison which will effectively be a life sentence without the possibility of parole.  The jury in the Sandusky case elected to deliberate until after 9pm tonight most likely because they knew they had reached or were close to reaching a verdict.  The verdict is not a shock to most viewers.  However, as we often see in high profile cases against celebrities or pseudo-celebrities.  It will be interesting to see if Sandusky will face additional charges for the alleged sexual misconduct with his adopted son who accused Sandusky of molestation during the trial.  The jury presumably was unaware of Sandusky’s stepson’s allegations.

The verdict is a black eye on Penn State football program, however hopefully it will allow closure for those negatively effected by Sandusky who as of today is a convicted sex offender and will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison.  Unfortunately it only takes one horrible person to ruin the reputation of so many, whether you believe that Penn State officials or the football program facilitated or enabled Sandusky.

Looking forward, it is expected that many of the Sandusky accusers will file civil lawsuits against Sandusky and Penn State University which is a public university and will most likely be protected by sovereign immunity.  Penn State is a public university with campuses and facilities throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.