Jerry Sandusky Autobiography Provided Clues to Victims, Say Authors
Famed Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky may have left clues leading to his sexual-assault victims in his autobiography, "Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story." Authors Bill Moushey and Bob Dvorchak allege in their new book that Sandusky led investigators to at least four victims, and the authors are speaking out about the infamous case.
"In essence, Jerry Sandusky's own book had provided the investigator with a road map back to himself," Moushey and Dvorchak wrote. Their upcoming book, "Game Over: Jerry Sandusky, Penn State, and the Culture of Silence," is expected to examine the life of Sandusky and how "a beloved coach and esteemed university became enmeshed in one of the worst scandals in U.S. sports history," a description on Amazon reads.
Pennsylvania state trooper Joe Leiter reportedly was able to start identifying Sandusky's victims by using "Touched." One chapter in the book focused on his charity The Second Mile, which benefited underprivileged youth.
"Sandusky had seen fit to publish photos of himself surrounded by some of the boys with whom he had forged close relationships," Moushey wrote.
"With this information, Leiter had a place to start," he added. Leiter began by interviewing one of the boys who came forward to tell of the abuse and asking him to identify any other boys he recognized in Sandusky's photos.
Leiter "was able to match from what he read in the book and what he heard from the young man. He got some last names, and as an investigator, he was able to find addresses, contacts," Moushey wrote.
The investigation took off from there, as Leiter was able to talk with more and more young men who had been victims of Sandusky's abuse. As their stories became known, Leiter was "convinced early on that this was a seriously sexual predator," Dvorchack said.
In 2011, Sandusky was arrested and charged with over 40 counts of sexual abuse against young boys. He was set free on $250,000 bail and sentenced to house arrest. Part of the condition of his release prohibits him from being alone with minors, and he must always wear an electronic monitoring device.
Sandusky has maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal. In an interview with The New York Times, he explained why he thought the charges were being brought up now.
"What I think are that these are individual matters. These kids, some of them, I know them. Some of them. I don't know all of them. We're assuming we know them. Two of the kids. My gut feeling would be that they got pulled into this," Sandusky stated.
"Game Over" will be released on April 17.