Mrs. Sandusky: He's innocent

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.

- Jerry Sandusky's wife said yesterday that her husband is innocent of the child-sex-abuse allegations made against him and that his accusers are making up their stories, including one suggesting that she was home while Sandusky attacked a boy who had screamed for help.

Dottie Sandusky's comments defending her husband were the first she has made publicly since Sandusky was arrested last month and accused of molesting boys he had met through a charity he founded for troubled youth. He faces more than 50 charges and has maintained his innocence.

She released the statement through her husband's attorney a day after a grand-jury report detailed claims of two new accusers, among them the testimony of one who said he had cried out for her help while Sandusky assaulted him in a basement bedroom.

"I am so sad anyone would make such a terrible accusation, which is absolutely untrue," she said. "We don't know why these young men have made these false accusations, but we want everyone to know they are untrue."

Dottie Sandusky, who has raised six adopted children, said she has been "shocked and dismayed" by the claims.

"I have been devastated by these accusations," she said. "Our children, our extended family and friends know how much Jerry and I love kids and have always tried to help and care for them. We would never do anything to hurt them."

Earlier yesterday, Jerry Sandusky was released after a night in jail when he posted bail stemming from the latest child-sex-abuse charges filed against him. Sandusky gained his release by using $200,000 in real-estate holdings and a $50,000 certified check provided by his wife, according to online court records. A judge has ordered him to be electronically monitored.

Sandusky faces criminal accusations from 10 young men who claim he molested them when they were boys in his home, on Penn State property and elsewhere. Sandusky, 67, has said repeatedly that he is innocent and has vowed to fight the case.