It is hard to fathom, the whole twisted tableau.
"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," Sandusky said. "In my heart, I know I did not do these alleged disgusting acts."
It might have been naive to expect anything different. We already had been told that Sandusky was planning to deny everything at his trial - that is, until one of his adopted sons switched allegiances in the middle of the proceedings and told prosecutors that he, too, had been a victim of Sandusky's abuse.
Faced with the complications of that potential testimony, Sandusky remained mute at his trial in exchange for keeping his son, Matt, off the witness stand. He was convicted on all but three of the charges placed before the jury. Shackled, in a sport coat, with a bewildered look on his face, the scene lit up by television lights, Sandusky was escorted into a police vehicle and sent to jail. He has been there since, silent until now, until this interview that likely will track the statement he makes on Tuesday to Judge John Cleland - assuming, that is, that his attorneys allow him to speak at all.
Hearing the voice on the recording, there is no doubt who is speaking. It is the man whose crimes, tragically minimized by his colleagues and superiors at Penn State, shook a university to its foundations and wrecked the reputation of a legend named Joe Paterno. The tone of Sandusky's voice falls somewhere between anger and resignation.
"My wife has been my only sex partner, and that was after marriage," he said at one point. "Our love continues."
He sounded as if he were reading that part. Actually, he sounded as if he were reading the whole thing. Several times, he referred to the haste with which the trial was scheduled and conducted - and there is no question that eight months, from charge to trial, was a fast track. But given the testimony - especially from Mike McQueary, the Penn State assistant coach who says that he witnessed one assault in a university shower, as well as the testimony from a janitor who says that he was told by a co-worker a few minutes after the co-worker witnessed another assault - it is hard to imagine that an extra eight months or an extra eight years would have made a significant difference.
Yet, Sandusky continues to fight.
"A young man who was dramatic, a veteran accuser and always sought attention, started everything," he said. "He was joined by a well-orchestrated effort of the media, investigators, the system, Penn State, psychologists, civil attorneys and other accusers. They won.
"I've wondered what they really won. Attention, financial gain, prestige - will all be temporary."
Victimizer as victim: That is Sandusky's story.
The assumption has always been that there would be an appeal - because of the quick scheduling of the trial, and because of certain rulings by Cleland, particularly the decision to allow the hearsay testimony of the janitor. What was not known was if Sandusky would continue his public denials.
Now we know. And while the appeal figures to attack on legal issues, Sandusky attacked his victims.
"Evaluate the accusers and their families," he said. "Realize they didn't come out of isolation. The accusers were products of many more people and experiences than me. Look at their confidence and their honesty. Think about how easy it was for them to turn on me given the information, attention and potential perks. I never labeled or put down them or their families. I tried and I cared, then asked for the same."
Sandusky said that he did not lose to "proven facts, evidence, accurate locations and times. . . . We lost to speculation and stories that were influenced by people who wanted to convict me." He said that he can be given justice only by "somebody apolitical with the courage to listen, to think about the unfairness, to have the guts to stand up and take the road less traveled."
And to ignore the testimony of victims and eyewitnesses.
Victimizer as victim, then. It never ends.
Contact Rich Hofmann at hofmanr@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @theidlerich.
