On the eve of the TODAY Show’s exclusive interview with Jerry Sandusky, the Paterno family’s attorney released a statement and said any attempt to use the interview “as a defense of Joe Paterno is misguided and inappropriate.”
According to the TODAY Show’s website, the interview, scheduled for Monday morning, “Jerry Sandusky: In His Own Words,” will be the first in which the convicted felon speaks out for the first time since he was incarcerated in October.
Sandusky, 69, was convicted in June on 45 of 48 counts of child sexual abuse and is serving a 30-60 year sentence at SCI Greene, a maximum-security prison where he spends 23 hours a day in his single cell.
The Paterno family released its statement via spokesman and attorney Wick Sollers, and is in full below:
“The release of the audio recording of Jerry Sandusky is a sad and unfortunate development. Sandusky had the opportunity to speak, under oath, during his trial and he chose not to do so. Releasing a recording at this time, nearly a year after he was found guilty on 45 counts, is transparently self-serving and yet another insult to the victims and anyone who cares about the truth in this tragic story.
“The Paterno family would prefer to remain silent on this matter, but they feel it is important to make it clear that they had no role in obtaining or releasing this recording. Moreover, they believe that any attempt to use this recording as a defense of Joe Paterno is misguided and inappropriate. I encourage anyone who wants to understand the facts of this case to go to Paterno.com and read the reports of former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, former FBI profiler, James Clemente, noted pedophilia expert, Dr. Fred Berlin and the King & Spalding legal team.
“From the beginning, the family has been committed to due process and a careful, objective examination of the facts. This is the path they will continue to follow.”
The Paterno family released its rebuttal to the Freeh report in February, a defense of the former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.
The TODAY Show airs from 7-11 a.m.
