Jeffrey Sandusky, one of Jerry Sandusky’s six adopted children, pleaded guilty on Friday to 14 counts related to child sexual abuse. His trial had been scheduled for Sept. 22.
Sandusky, 41, pleaded guilty to all charges, according to the Centre County District Attorney’s office. They included felony counts of solicitation to commit statutory sexual assault, solicitation to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, two counts of solicitation to commit sexual abuse of children, two counts of solicitation to photograph, videotape, depict on computer, or film sexual acts and six counts of unlawful contact with a minor. He also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of corruption of minors.
He was arrested in February after a Pennsylvania State Police investigation that began in November 2016.
The terms of the plea guarantee Sandusky will serve three to six years in state prison, but the sentencing judge can impose, and prosecutors will seek, four to eight years. Sandusky will be designated a tier III sex offender, the highest tier in Pennsylvania, and will be required to register with state police every three months for the remainder of his life.
He also will be evaluated to determine if he meets the criteria as a sexually violent predator as defined by the Sex Offender Registration Act, according to the DA’s office.
Police received a report in November of text messages Sandusky sent in March 2016 to a 16-year-old girl, the daughter of a woman he had been living with in Boalsburg for about five years, according to the criminal complaint. He reportedly asked the girl multiple times to send him nude and sexually explicit photos. Sandusky told her ‘that it’s not weird because he studied medicine,’ and that ‘nobody needs to know,’ police said.
The girl did not comply and Sandusky told her to delete the messages. Investigators said they recovered the messages and confirmed the girl’s account. She told police she believed Sandusky also had tried to watch her while she was in the shower.
During the investigation, police said they learned that three years earlier, Sandusky had sent a text message to the girl’s sister, who was 15 at the time, soliciting oral sex.
In the criminal complaint, police said the girl’s mother became emotional when she learned of the texts and told Sandusky to leave. Sandusky reportedly first told her he didn’t remember what he had said, but later said he knew it was wrong.
“While we were fully prepared to proceed to trial, today’s guilty plea to all charges ensures a significant prison sentence for defendant’s solicitation of child sex crimes with two minors that once completely trusted him,’ DA Stacy Parks Miller said in a release. ‘This outcome also ensures the victims need not suffer the trauma and revictimization of testifying at trial and importantly, the Defendant will have to comply with strict sex offender registration requirements for the remainder of his life. We are happy that these girls can move forward and experience a life with adults that deserve their trust.”
Jeffrey Sandusky’s father, Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State football assistant coach and founder of The Second Mile charity for at-risk youth, was convicted in 2012 on 45 counts of child sexual abuse and sentenced to 30-60 years in state prison. He maintains his innocence and is continuing to appeal under the Post-Conviction Relief Act.
