Jerry Sandusky maintains he's innocent

BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- A defiant Jerry Sandusky accused his victims of lodging "false allegations" against him in a taped jailhouse statement aired by a local radio station one day before he was to be sentenced on 45 counts of child sex abuse.

The former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach blamed a conspiracy driven by aggressive investigators, lying accusers and the media and questioned whether anything good could come from the publicity his case has received. Penn State's student-run radio station aired the three-minute statement Monday.

"They can take away my life. They can make me out as a monster. They can treat me as a monster, but they can't take away my heart," he said. "In my heart, I know I did not do these alleged disgusting acts."

His statements coincided with signals from his defense team yesterday that it had abandoned plans to plead for leniency during his sentencing hearing today and instead shifted focus to appealing the conviction.

"The bottom line is this," attorney Joseph Amendola said after a conference with Judge John M. Cleland. "How can he be remorseful if he maintains his innocence?"

Under state sentencing guidelines, Cleland could impose a sentence of anywhere from 10 to more than 400 years for the 45 counts of child sex abuse of which Sandusky was convicted in June.

Those charges include multiple counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and corruption of minors, the most serious of which carry 10-year minimum terms.

Eight young men testified that the man many had looked at as a mentor and father figure had molested them, many over a period of years. Lead prosecutor Joseph McGettigan said as many as six of those men would take the stand today in hopes of persuading Cleland that his crimes warrant the harshest punishment possible.