Bellefonte, PA – Jerry Sandusky was found guilty Friday night on 45 of the 48 counts charging him with sexual abuse against 10 boys over a 15-year period.
The verdict was reached at the end of the second day of jury deliberations and came more than seven months after Sandusky was first arrested in the case that rocked Penn State, where he was a former assistant football coach, and cast a pall over the area linked so firmly to the university.
Applause was heard outside the courtroom as word spread of the verdict after court was adjourned shortly after 10 p.m. local time.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly called Sandusky "a serial child predator who committed horrific acts upon his victims causing lifelong and life-changing consequences for all of them."
Defense attorney Joe Amendola, speaking moments before Kelly on the steps of the courthouse, said the verdict didn't prove his client was sick or guilty, saying there were a lot of innocent people in jail around the country.
The case drew an avalanche of attention, making it hard to find jurors who didn't already have an opinion, and Amendola said defending Sandusky was like trying to climb Mount Everest from the bottom.
"Well," he said, "obviously we didn't make it."
Sandusky, wearing a brown jacket and tie, was led from the courtroom with his hands cuffed in front of him and was placed in a waiting police cruiser to be taken to jail.
Amendola told CNN that his client would probably be sentenced in September and planned to appeal. If the guilty verdicts stick, Sandusky will most certainly spend the rest of his life behind bars.
During the trial, which began June 11, jurors heard graphic testimony from most of Sandusky's victims and other witnesses, according to accounts, including another assistant coach who said he witnessed Sandusky abusing a boy in the Penn State showers.
Kelly said Sandusky's victims "showed great strength and courage" during the investigation and trial.
"It was incredibly difficult for some of them to unearth long periods of shocking abuse they suffered at the hands of this defendant and most of us cannot fully comprehend what they endured while testifying in that packed court room," said Kelly.
"This trial was not something that they sought, but rather something that forced them to face the demons from their past and reveal what happened to them and their childhood when they met Jerry Sandusky."
Among the charges Sandusky was not convicted on was involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with the man known as Victim 2, according to The Patriot-News. Former assistant football coach Mike McQueary testified he had seen Sandusky abusing the boy in the Penn State showers.
It was this incident which led to charges against former Penn State officials Tim Curley and Gary Schultz and to the firing of football coach Joe Paterno, who was told of the abuse by McQueary.
Late Thursday, the jury asked to rehear testimony from McQueary.
Also Thursday, attorneys for Sandusky's 33-year-old adopted son confirmed that he alleged abuse against the former coach. Matt Sandusky's allegation and his willingness to testify for the prosecution ultimately prevented his adoptive father from taking the stand in his own defense.
Four of the initial 52 charges against Sandusky were dismissed during the trial.
In a statement, Penn State said it would invite the abuse victims "to participate in a program to facilitate the resolution of claims against the university arising out of Mr. Sandusky's conduct."
"The purpose of the program is simple -- the university wants to provide a forum where the university can privately, expeditiously and fairly address the victims' concerns and compensate them for claims relating to the university. Counsel to the university plan to reach out to counsel to the victims of Mr. Sandusky's abuse in the near future with additional details."
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