Penn State's Sandusky gets 30-60 years prison for child abuse

Former Pennsylvania State University football coach Jerry Sandusky was ordered to spend at least 30 years in prison on Tuesday for sexually abusing at-risk boys for more than a decade, a sentence likely to keep him behind bars until he dies.

Defiantly maintaining his innocence, the 68-year-old retired defensive coordinator listened as several victims recounted their pain to the packed courtroom. Then, he told the court: "I did not do these alleged disgusting acts."

Sandusky stood motionless in a red prison jumpsuit, his back to the audience and his wife, Dottie, while Judge John Cleland handed down the 30- to 60-year sentence for crimes that stunned the public, a major university and the world of college sports.

The one-time coach, who has been in solitary confinement, will be at least 98 years old before he is eligible for parole. He will be transferred to the Camp Hill State Correctional Institution for evaluation to determine which of the 25 state prisons will house him.

Because his conviction as a child molester makes him a target, he will likely be placed in isolation or protective custody. He will hold a job that pays 19 to 52 cents an hour, probably as a clerical worker, and be allowed five visits a month. Pennsylvania does not offer conjugal prison visits.

The sentence of 30 to 60 years "has the unmitigated impact of saying 'the rest of your life in prison,'" the judge said.

Sandusky was convicted in June on 45 counts of child sex abuse for molesting 10 boys over 15 years, some in the football team's showers on campus.

His victims accused him of fondling and oral and anal abuse. One recalled screaming in vain for help in the basement of Sandusky's home. Most experts said the sentence was fair.

"Your crime is not only what you did to their bodies, but your assault on their psyche and their souls," Cleland told Sandusky at the hearing in Centre County Court. "The tragedy of this story is it is a story of betrayal. Some of your victims had a genuine affection for you.

"It is precisely that ability to conceal those vices from yourself and everyone else that in my view makes you dangerous," he said.

The scandal shined a light on the devastating issue of child sexual abuse and raised pointed questions about the motivation of people who knew about Sandusky's behavior but failed for years to report a top coach vital to building Penn State's successful and lucrative football program.

Addressing the court, Sandusky said: "Others can take my life. They can make me out to be a monster.

"I tried to bring joy, I tried to make people laugh," he said of his work at The Second Mile charity he founded to help at-risk youth and where he was accused of recruiting victims.

Breaking into sobs as he talked about his family, he said: "We will continue to fight. There is much to fight."