Jerry Sandusky Convicted On 45 Counts Of Child Molestation

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) - A jury found the former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky guilty on 45 of 48 counts of child molestation after deliberated for nearly 21 hours.

Courtroom witnesses say Sandusky showed no emotion when the verdict was read.

The judge revoked Sandusky's bail and ordered him taken to the county jail to begin what will likely be a lifetime of confinement.

The crowd outside the courthouse cheered as the verdicts became known just after 10 p.m. on the second day of jury deliberations.

"We believe that justice has been served," said Attorney General Linda Kelly.

Sandusky's attorney Joe Amendola said he was not surprised.

"It was the expected outcome, given the overwhelming evidence against Jerry Sandusky," said Amendola.

The former Penn State assistant football coach was accused of molesting 10 boys over 15 years.

The young men testified they met Sandusky through Second Mile, the charity he founded for at-risk children.

Eight accusers took the stand, describing in graphic detail how the abuse started with gifts, sleepovers and trips to Penn State football games, but progressed to fondling, oral sex and violent rape.

Amendola tried to discredit investigators and suggested the accusers' were lying.

The defense also presented character witnesses including Sandusky's wife, who testified she never saw any inappropriate contact between her husband and boys.

But the prosecution's star witness, former Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary, testified he saw Sandusky abusing a young boy in a campus shower.

Sandusky will be sentenced in 90 days, and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

Sandusky never did testify in his own defense. His attorney said that strategy was to avoid rebuttal testimony from Sandusky's son, who only this week publicly claimed he too was a victim.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.)