The former Penn State coach called it "Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story." You couldn't make that up. If it were in a Hollywood movie, critics would call it not believable
View full sizeThe Penn State Bookstore, in the campus HUB, is continuing to sell the autobiography of former coach and alleged sex offender Jerry Sandusky, titled, "Touched." Last week, Sandusky was indicted on 40 counts of child sex abuse, with the alleged incidents stretching from 1994 to 2008. And the name he gave to his 2000 autobiography is not the only thing that looks different in light of the horrendous allegations.
In the book, Sandusky talks about his career as Penn State's legendary defensive coordinator - and heir apparent to head coach Joe Paterno. He also devotes much of the book to his relationships with boys through The Second Mile, the kids' football charity he founded in 1977.
"I had always professed that someday I would reap the benefits of maturity, but my lifestyle just wouldn't let me." That's how Sandusky launches into the life story he published a year after he retired from Penn State in 1999 to work full time for his charity. "Through The Second Mile, Sandusky had access to hundreds of boys, many of whom were vulnerable due to their social situation," according to the grand jury presentment.
As many people have read the presentment, they have been astonished that Sandusky was alleged to have committed sexual assaults in locker room showers, wrestling rooms and other public places where anyone could have walked in. Indeed, the presentment alleges that Sandusky was seen in the act of sexual assault twice and in suggestive positions on other occasions.
In "Touched," Sandusky paints a picture of himself as someone who would consistently take risks in pursuit of what he often refers to as "mischief."
"My father probably spoke the most truthful words about me that had ever been spoke," he writes. " 'Jer,' he said, 'you could mess up a free lunch.' ... I thrived on testing the limits of others and I enjoyed taking chances in danger."
After founding his charity, one night Sandusky was talking to two Second Mile boys who had rebelled against their foster parents. The foster father "grabbed me around the back of my shoulders and he made me do something when I didn't want to do it," one boy told Sandusky. "Do you ever grab your kids like that?"
" 'No, I don't grab my kids like that,' " Sandusky answered. " 'I grab them like this.' With that, I put my hands gently around their throat.
"I could tell they were totally confused," Sandusky wrote. "Both boys had a scared look in their eyes."
repeatedly described Sandusky hugging boys and talking about being very close to boys he met through the charity. He writes of the photos that adorn his office walls, "They are kids that have touched my life and have been a part of me for a long, long time."
"I believe I live a good part of my life in a make-believe world," Sandusky wrote in one of the final chapters. "I enjoyed pretending as a kid, and I love doing the same as an adult with these kids."
Jerry Sandusky concludes
with these words: "I ended my career the way I wanted it to end. ... This is how I have been touched by so many people in my lifetime, and how I hope I can add a little touch to others' lives as well."