Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is in prison for up to 60 years, but his wife says he is innocent of the 45 sexual-abuse charges.
In her first TV interview, Dottie Sandusky said on "The Today Show" Wednesday that there were not any victims, just males who "were manipulated and they saw money. And once lawyers came into the case, they said there was money."
Jerry Sandusky, 70, was at the center of the scandal that brought down iconic Penn State coach Joe Paterno. Sandusky was convicted in 2012 on 45 charges of sexual abuse of young boys over a period of 15 years, including some abuse that took place in Sandusky's home.
Dottie Sandusky, who has been married to Jerry Sandusky for 47 years, told "Today" host Matt Lauer that her husband did shower with boys: "That's the generation that Jerry grew up in. ... There were always people coming in and out no matter what time that was."
She took umbrage at a Washington Post story referenced by Lauer that said sexual predators "tend to choose spouses who can be counted on to suppress any unpleasant ideas that might occur to them."
"I'm not a weak spouse," she told Lauer. "... They call me 'Sarge' because Jerry said I kept everybody in line. If they want to say that, let them say that. I know who I am. And I know who Jerry is. And I know he did not do the horrible crimes that he's convicted of."
She said her husband reads, meditates and writes, and spends two hours a week in the law library. She also said she was "very hopeful" he will get out on appeal.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
