Defense attorneys confirmed that Jerry Sandusky is isolated in protective custody inside the Centre County Jail and that he has been placed on suicide watch as a precautionary measure.
Several friends of the Sandusky family watched far away from a row of flashing cameras, as Jerry Sandusky was escorted out of the courthouse in handcuffs, minutes after a jury convicted him of 45 charges connected to the child sex abuse scandal.
“It’s shaken me. I’ve known him for 45 years,” said Kathy Sulkowski. “I’ve never seen anything but a good person in him. He’s done a lot of good.”
AJ Dillen, a Rehabilitation Services Management student, told 6News that he knows the Sandusky family and said he is disappointed by the jury’s verdict.
“To me, I was in the courtroom, it’s a hearsay case. There’s no physical evidence and that’s why, down the road, this is how it’s going to be perceived in criminal proceedings in this case and in other cases, that you can get a conviction on hearsay with no physical evidence and contradictory testimony,” said Dillen. “The media pressure, the aftermath and things may be taking a toll. This isn’t over. It’s going to be a fight. I hope at the end of the day, Jerry is set free. To the fact of, not whether you want to perceive him guilty or not, but on the matter of the criminal justice system.”
Officials told 6News that Sandusky will likely be held in the county jail until his sentencing date, which is expected in mid-September.