Joseph Amendola, Lawyer For Jerry Sandusky, Hints At New Information With Bob Costas

While interviewing accused sexual predator Jerry Sandusky -- the former football coach whose alleged crimes have sparked the scandal at Penn State -- on Monday evening, NBC's Bob Costas was blunt in describing public perception of the case.

"There is a tremendous amount of information out there and fair-minded, common sense people have concluded that you are guilty of monstrous acts," Costas said. "And they are particularly unforgiving with the type of crimes that have been alleged here. And, so, millions of Americans who didn't know Jerry Sandusky's name until a week ago now regard you not only as a criminal but -- I say this I think in a considered way -- but as some sort of a monster."

Although he maintained his innocence -- while also admitting to showering with young boys and engaging in "horseplay" during these showers -- Sandusky didn't sound particularly hopeful about changing many minds any time soon.

"I don't know what I can say or what I could say that would make anybody feel any different now," Sandusky said. "I would just say that if somehow people could hang on until my attorney has a chance to fight you know for my innocence. But that's about all I could ask right now and you know obviously it's a huge challenge."

Despite Costas' appraisal of Sandusky's reputation, the man charged with -- and charging for -- arguing his case seems confident he can convince the only people that matter -- a jury. Sandusky's lawyer, Joseph Amendola, also appeared on NBC's "Rock Center" to take questions from Costas. The brief Q&A session with the lawyer provided an interlude amidst the cringe-inducing Sandusky interview.

READ BELOW: Full Transcript Of Amendola's Interview With Costas

Not only does Amendola believe in his client's innocence, but he implies that the defense will be able to produce witnesses to contradict the graphic content of the grand jury report. Most shocking, he claims to have tracked down the alleged victim of the assault that Mike McQueary has testified to witnessing in 2002. Although the mother of "Victim 1" recently discussed the alleged abuse of her son on "Good Morning America," the testimony of McQeaury regarding the rape of "Victim 2" has always seemed an integral part of the prosecution's case.

Costas pointedly asked Amendola if he would allow his children to be alone with his client. Rather than asking questions about his children, the New York Post delved into Amendola's relationship with the mother of those children. The Post relays a report that Amendola impregnated a teenager during the 1990s.

Below is the transcript of Amendola's televised interview with Bob Costas:

Bob Costas: You said a few days ago that "much more is going to come out in our defense." In broad terms, what?

Joseph Amendola: We expect we're going to have a number of kids, now how many of those so-called eight kids we're not sure, but we anticipate we're going to have at least several of those kids come forward and say, "this never happened. This is me, this is the allegation, it never occurred." In fact, one of the toughest allegations, the McQueary violations, what McQueary said he saw, we have information that that child says that never happened. Now, grown up. Now the person is in his 20s.

Costas: Until now we were told that that alleged victim could not be identified. Do you have that...

Amendola: ... by the Commonwealth.

Costas: You have identified him?

Amendola: We think we have.

Costas: So you found him, the Commonwealth has not.

Amendola: Interesting? Isn't it?

Costas: Would you allow your own children to be alone with your client.

Amendola: Absolutely. I ... I ... I believe in Jerry's innocence. Quite honestly, Bob, that's why I'm involved in the case. If I...

Costas: You believe in his innocence?

Amendola: His innocence.

Costas: Not just that you can mitigate his guilt? You believe in his innocence?

Amendola: I believe in his innocence.

Comments

[Michelle Landry 74]

10:43 AM on 06/26/2012

Not withstanding Sandusky's apparent guilt, he's still entitled to have legal representation.

And I don't see why people make such a big deal out of the fact that Sandusky's lawyer Amendola got a sixteen year old girl pregnant. Pretty sure the age of consent in Pennsylvania is sixteen, so its not like he broke the law.

Besides alot of teenage girls are attracted to older guys, usually in their twenties or thirties, but sometimes even older guys in their forties. If they didnt break the law, then who cares how old his wife was when he first got her pregnant while she was in high school.

It just seems like a distraction from the real issues in the Sandusky case.

[SteveDenver]

03:13 AM on 11/17/2011

Bob Costas: Incisive Reporter

not

[TNFarmer]

12:28 AM on 11/17/2011

For my part, I wish a judge had already been assigned this case and s/he had put a gag order on both the defense and the prosecution. All this ill-informed yammering, blaming, and speculating from attorneys, media, and we the experts on everything moral, immoral, just, unjust, known, unknown, etc., etc. has already gone too darned far. Get on with the prosecution and let's see what happens without all this senseless noise already.

[Gerio]

03:20 PM on 11/16/2011

To anyone: how do you"HORSE-PLAY" (naked in the shower!) with another person, let alone a young boy? Real question!
But answer that one first: what do you do with a horse? ( After you pull him out of the barn, that is...)

[dbull55347]

05:26 PM on 11/16/2011

Ride him hard and put him away wet???

[wrascil]

02:51 PM on 11/16/2011

will the drug addict, homosexual, pedophile of pop defense work again ? ? ? it worked for michael jackson

[hoochiepap]

02:40 PM on 11/16/2011

They have accused Sandusky of something horrible. Let's look at this situation. Fifty years ago both my grandfathers ( both died 50 years ago ) would have been horrified if you told them that two men were trying to get married. WHAT !!!. I can hear them now. And please don't try to explain how they were sexual active with one another, as that would have exploded their heads while they went for their guns to clear the trash from the vicinity.
But as time has rolled along, we have been exposed to more and more and have been taught ( or they have sure been trying ) to think as this as natural and normal. Near all television shows has a gay or two on them or at least a lesbian hosting the show. It is the feel good world we are trying to be shoved into.
Now, as I see it if two men having sex together was so horrible back in 1960, but has gathered so much support today, it won't be long until what Sanducsky is accused of will be the norm. Sandusky is just a man ahead of the times.
See, once you start letting your morals slip, there is no bottom of the slide.

[Gerio]

03:31 PM on 11/16/2011

My frriend, you have described in golden words the whirpool the society at large is in! just think of what it will be like as early as the next twenty five years! Words like "Morality" and "Decency" will be extirped removed) from the lexicon, just as most iconic reminders of our and glorious and decent past...

[oleperfessur]

02:15 PM on 11/16/2011

Birds of a feather.........A staturatory rapist defending a pedophile. A bond made in Hell.

[fmarasajr]

01:36 PM on 11/16/2011

a child molester defending a child molester.

[TroopAbn]

11:29 AM on 11/16/2011

Sound's like the "Michael Jackson syndrome". He only liked to sleep with young boys. Sound's like Jerry only liked to shower with them.

FROM NEVERLAND RANCH TO PENN STATE. My, is this a great country or what? Give's a whole new term to the phrase: Jerry's kids!

[sanfran55]

01:52 PM on 11/16/2011

From sea to shining sea - disgusting.

[legitane]

11:27 AM on 11/16/2011

Jerry, that big overgrown kid, missed his calling in life.. he should have been a priest....

[twfslc]

10:28 AM on 11/16/2011

The question becomes whether this case can be tried in Centre County. Considering life in Centre County revolves around Penn State, I wonder if the case will have to be moved. I'm not sure that you could find 12 people in and around State College that haven't already made up their minds.

[ema123]

03:05 PM on 11/16/2011

Bigger question is why is sandusky and his atty talking to the victims, Prosecutors couldnt identify the boy mcquery saw raped because Sandusky said no boy was raped, but suddenly sanduskys atty identifies him and is talking to him before prosecutors, well i guess you would know the name of the victim you raped. In abc interview with sandusky atty said Sandusky told he did remeber an incident in which the athletic dir talked to him about something Mcquery saw and claims at the time he did give the name of the boy to the dir and told him to call him himself. He couldnt remember that when prosecutors asked him but now he recalls it and he and his atty talk to the victim before prosecutors. WHY is sandusky talking to any of the victims. This story gets worse and worse.

[missiontango]

09:33 AM on 11/16/2011

Thank God, PSU's next two games are away at Ohio State and Wisconsin. At least we don't have to witness over 100,000 morons chanting We Are Penn State. Just what is Penn State? Do they want to be defined as an institution that values football wins over the lives of young disadvantaged children? I belong to a Golf Club that has a number of PSU grads. In many cases their children are now students. I will not engage in any discussion with them on the tragedy at PSU, as some of them are in complete denial.

[twfslc]

10:25 AM on 11/16/2011

When Jo Pa arrived at Penn State in 1950, it was basically an ag school. Now, it's a university that rivals the other great public schools, such as Michigan, Virginia, and Cal-Berkeley. Not too long ago, the WSJ deemed Penn State the #1 school for corporate recruiters, when it comes to hiring people from all disciplines (not just the business school).

Remember that the word fan comes from fanatic. Let's face it, when a team has a long history of winning, fans aren't the most rational of people. The mindset of a Penn State student or alumnus is going to be different than a fan of a school with a long history of futility.

[legitane]

11:33 AM on 11/16/2011

60+ years ago gold was selling at $ 32 an ounce, gas was 19 cents a gallon.exactly, what is your point ?
That Paterno turned Penn State around ? You kidding me, right ?

[Louie Rey]

09:20 AM on 11/16/2011

Yeah, he's going to use the Michael Jackson defense. Too bad he doesn't have a dozen or so siblings to stand up for him. The biggest mistake he made was that he isn't a celebrity and it didn't take place in LA LA LAND otherwise known as Hollywood. If that were the case he'd be given a star on the Walk Of Fame! Time to take out the trash, that's you Sandusky.

[grundoboy]

09:15 AM on 11/16/2011

Sandusky is mentally ill equipped to deal with his faults. Give him an attorney to plead insanity as that's where it's heading..

[sanfran55]

03:13 PM on 11/16/2011

No, I think that they are going to make McQueary the fall guy, and trash the victims to create doubt and lack of credibility. Problem is, 10 more victims have surfaced since the original 8, and who knows how many more?

[invmartyc]

08:42 AM on 11/16/2011

I have yet to hear anything more than "boys were sexually abused." That is a vague term, what is sexual abuse to one person may not be for someone else. It is what the law defines as sexual abuse that matters.

If there was actual sexual abuse in 2002 and it was reported to the head of the college and the Campus Police then there is a great deal more involved here. If that is true I hope criminal and civil charges are brought against all parties involved.

And the person who reported it in 2002, why did he not go to the local police when the Campus Cops did nothing? Didn't he find that odd that nothing was done?

[Louie Rey]

09:25 AM on 11/16/2011

I'm not a lawyer but I would think that "sexual abuse" is not as vague as you make it out to be. I'd agree that there are different levels of that type of abuse but being an adult and simply being naked with young boys (we're talking about a ten year old just in this one incident) would definitely fall under the "vague" definition of sexual abuse.

[invmartyc]

09:51 AM on 11/16/2011

I don't know, is it creepy? I think so, but not every case is the same. Did Mom and Dad know that Jr. is showering with an old guy? And as far as I know that is not a criminal offense unless the guy was exposing himself in a sexual nature. Really kind of a gray area. What if they were at a nudist camp, we have several of those in Florida and people bring their kids there. I don't attend and neither did I take my kid there but I have seen that it happens because of work related situations.

What I meant as vague was the terms used by the media and others. The law is very specific, it has to be. And it deals with actual sexual touch, penatration, stuff like that. The media wants to throw out a general term which does not tell you any facts. And yes, I am a retired cop.

[ema123]

03:12 PM on 11/16/2011

Naked and alone multiple times as well as hugging them and touching thier private parts in the nude is deemed abuse under the laws of PA and with all most every adult and parent. and two adult witness saw more than just nudity they saw actual acts being performed as well as victims claiming it was more than nude showers but actual acts performed on them by sandusky in the basement of his home

[legitane]

11:37 AM on 11/16/2011

I define sexual abuse as something you would not want your children to experience...fair enough ?

[hoochiepap]

02:41 PM on 11/16/2011

Your only problem apparently is you do not know what they want their children to experience. There are some really messed up folks raising kids today.

[dbull55347]

05:29 PM on 11/16/2011

Sexual abuse??? More like queer rape!