Mother of Jerry Sandusky's Adopted Son Speaks Out
The birth mother of former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky’s youngest adopted son has spoken out against the alleged abuser.
Jerry and Dorothy Sandusky became guardians of Debrah Long’s son, Matt, in 1995. Long told ABC News that sharing her son with Sandusky was nightmarish and argued that her son, who met Sandusky via The Second Mile, was scared of the former assistant coach and only began acting up after Sandusky entered his life.
“It was as if Jerry owned Matthew,” Long said.
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“My son was afraid of Jerry. If Jerry said don’t talk, he didn’t talk. I would sit back and watch when Jerry would show up, how excited Matt was. And then, as time when on, I would watch the same kid hide behind the bedroom door and say, ‘Mom tell him I’m not home.’”
According to a report in The Patriot-News, Matt attempted suicide after living in the Sandusky home for four months. Long told the news agency that she had contacted authorities because she feared for the safety of her son.
Sandusky’s lawyer, Joseph Amendola, argues that Long’s claims are inaccurate and that Long “never liked Jerry because she saw Jerry as a person who was involved in removing her child from the home.”
The Sandusky family adopted five sons and one girl, all of which are adults now. Matt was the youngest of six children adopted by the couple and insists that his foster father did not abuse him.
However, immediately following the allegations against Jerry Sandusky, Matt’s ex-wife obtained a court order prohibiting Sandusky from being alone with their three children.
Dorothy Sandusky has not made a statement on the scandal even though the 23-page grand jury indictment alleges repeatedly that victims were abused in the Sandusky home during a 15-year period.
In his 2000 autobiography, “Touched,” Sandusky described his encounters with children he had met through his charity The Second Mile.
“I believe I live a good part of my life in a make-believe world. I enjoyed pretending as a kid and I love doing the same as an adult with these kids,” Sandusky wrote.
