Ex-Penn State coach Sandusky's son sentenced for child sex crimes

[December 09, 2017]  By Suzannah Gonzales

(Reuters) - The adopted son of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State University assistant football coach convicted of sexually abusing young boys, was sentenced on Friday to serve up to seven years in prison for child sex crimes, a court official said.

Jeffrey Sandusky, 42, pleaded guilty in September to soliciting two teenage sisters for sex, according to Pennsylvania prosecutors. The guilty pleas came one week before he was set to go to trial on allegations that he sent lewd text messages to the underage girls asking for sex and naked photographs.

Centre County Court of Common Pleas Judge Pamela Ruest sentenced Sandusky to three-and-a-half to seven years in prison followed by one year of probation, district court administrator Kendra Miknis said in an email.

Sandusky's lawyer, Lance Marshall, declined to comment on the sentence, but he said that his client is currently being held at the Centre County Correctional Facility and will be moved to the State Correctional Institution in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

In October, a Pennsylvania judge denied a request by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky for a new trial on charges that he sexually assaulted pre-teen and teenaged boys for 15 years.

Jeffrey Sandusky is pictured in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters February 13, 2017. Centre County Correctional Facility/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Jerry Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of exploiting his position in the top-flight football program to sexually assault 10 boys. He is currently serving a 30- to 60-year prison sentence.

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales; Editing by Frances Kerry)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.