Jerry Sandusky Interview: Ex-Penn State Coach Talks About Children To NBC In 1987 (VIDEO)

Back in 1987, Jerry Sandusky was a talented defensive coordinator for Penn State. NBC news conducted an interview with him and a key focus was his charitable endeavors on behalf of underprivileged children. In the wake of the horrifying charges of sexual abuse against Sandusky, the comments he made about his passion for working with kids take on an entirely different significance. Looking back on the '87 interview, NBC investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff called it "a disturbing look into the man at the center of the Penn State scandal."

Sandusky was arrested last weekend and charged with sexually assaulting eight boys over a span of 15 years. The 67-year-old, who was arraigned on 40 criminal counts, started The Second Mile in 1977, a foundation established to help at-risk kids. Sandusky met all of the boys who testified that they were sexually abused by him through The Second Mile.

Back in 1987, he spoke about turning down other coaching jobs to continue his work with his foundation.

"I enjoy being around children. I enjoy their enthusiasm I just have a good time with them," he said. "Everybody needs people to care for them. Sometimes they don't want it. Sometimes they don't understand what you're trying to do, but they want to be disciplined. Kids are growing up awfully fast today."

More than a decade after the interview in 1998, Sandusky was first investigated for allegedly showering with a boy and police listened in as the mother of the child confronted him. Sandusky told her he was wrong and wished that she forgave him. No charges were filed.

Sara Ganim of The Patriots-News wrote on Friday that the 1998 incident was the first of many missed opportunities to investigate the former coach.

During the week following the release of the grand jury report, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz stepped down after they were charged with perjury in a possible cover-up of Sandusky's alleged actions. Longtime head coach Joe Paterno along with University President Graham Spanier were relieved of their duties effective immediately by the Board of Trustees and the number of Sundusky's victims reportedly doubled.

WATCH:

Comments

[goodlknnwashdc]

10:39 PM on 06/21/2012

Mr. Sandusky, hope you liked your party. Now all that's left is for You is to just make sure your widow's affairs are in order and move on.

[piblogger1]

12:57 PM on 11/22/2011

Story update . . . Will the Penn State scandal finally create awareness of a problem that is likely going to be getting worse before it gets better . . . http://piwindowonbusiness.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/with-sensational-headlines-and-shocking-revelations-are-we-missing-the-bigger-tragedy-of-the-penn-state-scandal/

[Christian Shaffer]

02:08 PM on 11/17/2011

I posted a comment about how this whole thing is starting to make me sick and someone responded with a statement about how they were abused when they were younger and how they felt about the whole thing. Would someone care to explain to me why HP found it necessary to call their comment offensive and remove it? What is offensive about sharing something tragic with other people? You make me sick Huffington Post. It's ok to talk about a pedophile, but when a victim speaks up, it's offensive.

[MrComments]

10:15 PM on 11/15/2011

Did the guy at the end who sells Penn State stuff say "he's ruined Penn State". He's the type of guy who is part of the problem. The reason why this was kept so secret is because people were more worried about how it affected themselves instead of the kids. Wow.

For all we know maybe that guy heard things at the time and just looked the other way. If it was a competing school, he probably calls the police anonymously.

[Christian Shaffer]

10:05 PM on 11/15/2011

It's starting to make me physically sick to read about this.

[Suzanne 55]

02:46 PM on 11/15/2011

I wish I could believe him, but I don't believe him at all. I hope these chldren whose lives have been crushed are not listening to him! That would be almost like being violated again and these children need to feel they can take their power back! They will never be the same but I pray that they will at least know that none of it was their fault,,,,it was their MOLESTER"S fault!

[ussuri]

02:43 PM on 11/15/2011

child abuse is an old concept.
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/franklincoverupexcerpt.shtml

[bmitche]

02:32 PM on 11/15/2011

"Sometimes they don't understand what you are trying to do, but they want to be disciplined" Perhaps he thought of this abuse as a form of discipline. This guy was a sly fox. He had it all figured out, and he knew exactly when to go for the kill.

[MajorMel]

01:01 PM on 11/15/2011

(TO CONTINUE MY COMMENT BELOW)...

Just please, parents, read what I wrote and remember it. Be aware at all times. They are out there lurking, waiting for your child, and hoping you don't see the red flag. Don't give pedophiles that opportunity.

[MajorMel]

01:00 PM on 11/15/2011

As the mother of a child who survived brief sexual abuse by a pedophile neighbor, I immediately sought to educate myself on the subject of pedophilia and the psychology surrounding it. I felt that arming myself with this knowledge would empower me to better parent a child (my child) who had endured such a crime.

What I want EVERYONE to know is that each and every statement Jerry Sandusky vomits from his mouth is classic textbook rhetoric from a pedophile. "I love children. I love being around them. I love their enthusiasm and energy and innocence about the world. They just make me happy. I want to devote my life to children.".... blah, blah, blah. PARENTS PLEASE TAKE NOTE: These kinds of innocuous comments are a HUGH red flag. If you hear an adult talking like this about children, you owe it to your children to proceed with extreme caution, because kids will not pick up on it.

It doesn't surprise me in the least to hear Sandusky insist that he is innocent. Pedophiles see nothing wrong with their obsessive love of children. Even when they take it to a sexual level, they see it as a natural expression of their overwhelming "love" of children. In their minds, there's nothing wrong if it comes from "love." So no, Sandusky will never admit to doing anything wrong, because his sickness prevents him from having the capability of seeing the harm in what he did.

[Suzanne 55]

02:40 PM on 11/15/2011

My heart goes out to you and your child. I know exactly how you feel. My son went through years of anger, then turned to alcohol and drugs. We even took him to therapy and rehab over and over. Finally it all came out last year. He was molested by his "step grandfather",,,whom we trusted!!! Somehow deep within he had a feeling that because it was his grandfather he must have been just as guilty even though the abuse started very young. The earliest he remembers was around 6, but looking back I think it was earlier!
My son had unexplained bladder problems and we went to specialist and even had to take him to the hospital to have dye injected. No explanation at all. The doctor said he was just a nervous child? He had no reason to be nervous? We were totally clueless. Now I read that this is a symptom. His grandfather would come and pick him up and spend the day with him. Coming home with lots of new toys!
Looking back I remember his ex wife complaining that she got tired of his coaching and even though he had girls he would spend every second with his boys on the little league teams! Two years ago one of his players who was always close to him took his life. Was he a victim too?
We trusted him. I wish I could put into words the rage I feel, but there are no words. None!

[MajorMel]

06:06 PM on 11/15/2011

Suzanne, I know your pain, and I am sorry for it. That is why I wanted to comment and put that info out there that I learned through educating myself on pedophilia. I'm not looking for sympathy, I'm hoping that parents will learn to identify suspicious red flags because, honestly, they can be extremely hard to pick up on. I would have never thought my neighbor (whom I trusted) could be capable of such a thing... much like you probably never thought your step-father was capable. But that's part of a pedophile's M.O. - the trust factor. I don't know how old your son is, but talk therapy with a GOOD psychologist is crucial. So is YOUR talk and understanding. The more you "don't talk about it" the more shame they feel. We never swept it under the rug, and you shouldn't either. Instead, we empowered our daughter (molested at 6) by pressing charges... and her testifying in court actually empowered HER over her molester. Even at 6, she understood that and felt empowered that she "won" and he "lost." (He got 5 years.) She was a champ. She's 20 now, a junior in college, and in a long-term committed relationship with a really wonderful guy. It wasn't easy by any means. We went through some turbulent times from 12-16, but hang in there.

[tennisguy]

12:54 PM on 11/15/2011

It is interesting that his Second Mile organization, which, among other things, fed him young boys, paid him handsomely for being a consultant.

There are certainly a lot of twists and turns in this case. Even the police, who were brought in years ago regarding Sandusky's alleged crimes, have a lot of questions to answer. It appears that the police, after a superficial look at allegations against him, dropped any inquiry.

[Elroy Jetson]

12:41 PM on 11/15/2011

Sometimes it's just too bad that we are a "civilized" society when it comes to people like this...

[michaelnel4449]

12:39 PM on 11/15/2011

He should have been a catholic priest, he could have gotten a free pass...

[arobin3000]

12:33 PM on 11/15/2011

On this subject I can nothing that hasn't been said, so I will leave a quote. (almost)
'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing'.

[ash5114221]

12:22 PM on 11/15/2011

Ruin Penn State? Who cares. Everybody involved did that when they chose to cover all of this up.