www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/25/jerry-sandusky-juror-josh_n_1625166.html?utm_hp_ref=crime&ncid=webmail1 Jerry Sandusky Juror Joshua Harper Discusses Deliberations While Victims' Fami
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Jerry Sandusky
Jerry Sandusky was taken into custody Friday night after being convicted of 45 crimes.
The sweeping guilty verdict in the Jerry Sandusky trial unleashed such strong emotions in one of the victims that it stopped him in his tracks.
The 18 year old identified in court as Accuser 1 was headed to work when his mother called him to relay the jury's verdict on Friday night finding Sandusky guilty of 45 crimes.
"He had to pull over his car," his mom told ABC News. "We talked about it for a few minutes. He was extremely happy."
Her son was the first victim to accuse the ex-Penn State assistant football coach of sexual abuse. A recent high school graduate, he testified about meeting Sandusky through his Second Mile charity. Eventually, he told the court, Sandusky invited him to his home where he performed oral sex on him in the basement.
His mom said he's working with the Let Go ... Let Peace Come In foundation to help other victims of abuse.
"He's a strong one," she said to ABC News. "He's a survivor and he'll get through it."
Victims' families and members of the jury have come forward to talk more about the monumental verdict that -- if it holds up despite an expected appeal -- will likely lead to a sentence of more than 400 years for Sandusky.
"I thought I'd be happy," Accuser 8's mother said, according to CNN. "But there's no joy. We all lost."
Her 25-year-old son was the only one of the eight accusers to attend court in Bellefonte, Pa to hear the foreman read the conviction on 45 of 48 counts, CNN reported.
The two-week trial was emotionally wrenching for some of the jury's five men and seven women, including one who appeared to cry Friday night.
But one juror described the satisfaction that came from convicting a predator who abused disadvantaged boys for years.
“It feels good to expose something that was covered up,” said Joshua Harper, 31, a Penn State alumnus, according to the Washington Post. “It’s a statement that there needs to be accountability and change. It’s the beginning of our time to heal.”
Sandusky's lack of outward emotion as the verdict was read convinced Harper that the jury reached the right conclusion.
"That was just confirmation again," Harper told NBC's Today show. "You know I looked at him during the reading of the verdict, and just the look on his face, no real emotion, just kind of accepting, you know, because he knew it was true."
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Joseph E. McGettigan III
Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, right, is escorted by Centre County Sheriff Denny Nau, left, as he is taken into custody at the Centre County Courthouse after being found guilty of multiple charges of child sexual abuse in Bellefonte, Pa., Friday, June 22, 2012. Sandusky was convicted of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years on Friday, accusations that had sent shock waves through the college campus known as Happy Valley and led to the firing of Penn State's beloved Hall of Fame coach, Joe Paterno. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Jerry Sandusky
Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, rear, leaves the Centre County Courthouse with a Centre County Sheriff's deputy after being found guilty of multiple charges of child sexual abuse in Bellefonte, Pa., Friday, June 22, 2012. Sandusky was convicted of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years, accusations that had sent shock waves through the college campus known as Happy Valley and led to the firing of Penn State's beloved Hall of Fame coach, Joe Paterno. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Outside Courthouse
The scene outside the courthouse after the verdict was announced.
Jerry Sandusky, Dottie Sandusky
Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, rear, and his wife Dottie leave the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Friday, June 22, 2012.
Dorothy Sandusky
Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky's wife Dorothy Sandusky arrives at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Thursday, June 21, 2012.
Gary Schultz
Former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley, right, arrives for a hearing at Dauphin County Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Harrisburg, Pa.
Jerry Sandusky, Karl Rominger
In this courtroom sketch, Karl Rominger, left, attorney for Jerry Sandusky, right, listen as the testimony of Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary is reenacted at the request of the jury during the second day of jury deliberations in Sandusky's child sexual abuse trial at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Friday, June 22, 2012.
FILE - This Dec. 7, 2011 file booking photo released by the Centre County Correctional Facility in Bellefonte, Penn. shows former Penn State football defensive coordinator Gerald "Jerry" Sandusky.
Dottie Sandusky
In this Dec. 13, 2011 file photo, Dottie Sandusky, wife of former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
The Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., is shown Monday, Dec. 12, 2011.
Mike McQueary
In this file photo from Jan. 25, 2012, former Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary arrives to the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center on the Penn State campus for the funeral service of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in State College, Pa.
Jerry Sandusky
In this Feb. 10, 2012 file photo, Jerry Sandusky speaks to the media at the Centre County Courthouse after a bail conditions hearing, in Bellefonte, Pa. Former FBI chief Louis Freeh and his investigators have conducted 200 interviews in their expansive probe into the child sex scandal at Penn State.
This March 26, 2012 file photo shows the sign outside the State College, Pa. office of The Second Mile. The charity for troubled youths started by Jerry Sandusky more than three decades ago -- and through which the retired Penn State assistant football coach met the boys he was sexually abusing.
Gary Schultz, Tim Curley
FILE - In these Nov. 7, 2011 file photos, former Penn State vice president Gary Schultz, left, and former athletic director Tim Curley, right, enter a district judge's office for an arraignment in Harrisburg, Pa., for their actions related to the sex abuse scandal surrounding former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Despite Sandusky�'s delay requests, it now appears his case will get under way Tuesday, June 5, 2012, with selection of jurors from among neighbors in the area around Penn State, a location that before November could be called Happy Valley without a hint of irony or bitterness. (AP Photo/Brad Bower, left, Matt Rourke, right, File)
Karl Rominger
FILE - In this file photo from Dec. 13, 2011, Karl Rominger, an attorney for former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky who is accused of molesting boys over a 15-year period, stands outside the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. Rominger entered his formal appearance on Sandusky's behalf in April 2012, but had previously been assisting with the defense. Despite Sandusky�'s delay requests, it now appears his case will get under way Tuesday, June 5, 2012, with selection of jurors from among neighbors in the area around Penn State, a location that before November could be called Happy Valley without a hint of irony or bitterness. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Sue Paterno
FILE - In this file photo from Jan. 26, 2012, Sue Paterno, wife of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, enters a memorial service at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 packed the arena for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died from lung cancer.
Jerry Sandusky
FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2012 file photo, Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant football coach charged with sexually abusing boys, speaks to the media at the Centre County Courthouse after a bail conditions hearing in Bellefonte, Pa. Alleged victims of Sandusky will not be allowed to avoid disclosure of their names by testifying under pseudonyms, and tweets or other electronic communications by reporters will not be permitted during the trial, the judge ruled Monday, June 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Television satellite trucks set up outside the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Monday, June 4, 2012, in preparation for the start of the child sexual abuse trial of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Joe Paterno
FILE - In this Sept. 16, 2006 file photo, then Penn State coach Joe Paterno watches the college football game against Youngstown State in State College, Pa. Paterno, the Penn State football coach since 1966, was told by an assistant coach that he saw former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky and a young boy in a shower on the Penn State campus and Paterno in turn, told Penn State officials. The Penn State Board of Trustees ousted him on Nov. 6, 201 for what was called his �"failure of leadership�" surrounding allegations about Sandusky. He died of lung cancer Jan. 22, 2012. Despite Sandusky�'s delay requests, it now appears his case will get under way Tuesday, June 5, 2012, with selection of jurors from among neighbors in the area around Penn State, a location that before November could be called Happy Valley without a hint of irony or bitterness. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Tom Corbett
FILE - In this March 8, 2011 file photo, Gov. Tom Corbett addresses a joint session of the Pennsylvania House and Senate in Harrisburg, Pa. Corbett was the attorney general when the investigation into former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was launched by state prosecutors. Sandusky is accused of molesting boys over a 15-year period. Corbett also serves as a member of the Penn State Board of Trustees, although he did not actively participate until after Sandusky was charged in December. Despite Sandusky�'s delay requests, it now appears his case will get under way Tuesday, June 5, 2012, with selection of jurors from among neighbors in the area around Penn State, a location that before November could be called Happy Valley without a hint of irony or bitterness. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Joe Amendola
FILE - In this file photo from Dec. 13, 2011, Joe Amendola, attorney for former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky who is accused of molesting boys over a 15-year period, talks with media outside the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. Amendola has been second-guessed for allowing Sandusky to go on network television and speak at length with a reporter for The New York Times after his arrest. Despite Sandusky�'s delay requests, it now appears his case will get under way Tuesday, June 5, 2012, with selection of jurors from among neighbors in the area around Penn State, a location that before November could be called Happy Valley without a hint of irony or bitterness. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Mike McQueary
File-This Sept. 12, 2009 file photo shows Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary walking the sideline during the second half of their college football game against Syracuse in State College, Pa. McQueary, whose report of Jerry Sandusky allegedly attacking a child in the showers led to Joe Paterno's firing said in a court filing Tuesday May 8, 2012 that he is suing the school. The "writ of summons" filed by McQueary's lawyer described it as a whistle-blower case, but the brief document was not accompanied by a full complaint that would lay out the allegations. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster,File)
Jerry Sandusky, Joe Amendola
FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2011 file photo, former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, center left, walks with his attorney Joe Amendola, center right, as he leaves the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. Of all the boys Sandusky is accused of molesting, none has been the focus of more outrage than the one known as Victim 2 _ the boy allegedly abused in a locker room shower, the case that ended Joe Paterno's career and the issue that spawned criminal charges against two school officials. Prosecutors say they don't know one important fact about him: his identity. The prospect that a victim in a sex abuse case is unknown presents a challenge for prosecutors; another potential complication is that Sandusky believes he knows the alleged victim _ and says he could help exonerate him. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
People display shirts asking the board to resign before a meeting of the Penn State Board of Trustees at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center Friday, March 16, 2012 in Hershey, Pa. The trustees are meeting in Hershey to discuss potential changes to the board amid criticism over its handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Joe Paterno
FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2011 file photo, Penn State coach Joe Paterno arrives home, in State College, Pa. Penn State's trustees say late coach Joe Paterno's failure to follow up on a sexual abuse allegation against former assistant Jerry Sandusky "constituted a failure of leadership" that ultimately led to his firing in November. A report issued Monday, March 12, 2012, by the trustees says the board ultimately decided to fire Paterno after learning the details of his testimony before a grand jury when charges were filed against Sandusky. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Mike McQueary
Former Penn State assistant football caoch Mike McQueary, left, arrives to the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center on the Penn State campus for the funeral service of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in State College, Pa., Wednesday Jan. 25, 2012. As a graduate assistant to Paterno in 2002, McQueary went to the coach saying he had witnessed former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky assaulting a boy in the shower at the Penn State football building. Paterno died Sunday at the age of 85. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)
Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky
<em>CORRECTION: Jerry Sandusky's name was misspelled in an earlier version of this slideshow. </em>
Jerry Sandusky, Dottie Sandusky
Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, right center, arrives with his wife Dottie, left center, at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Friday, June 22, 2012. Sandusky is accused of sexual abuse of 10 boys over a 15-year period. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Jerry Sandusky
Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, center, arrives at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Friday, June 22, 2012. Sandusky is accused of sexual abuse of 10 boys over a 15-year period. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Joseph E. McGettigan III
Jerry Sandusky leaves the Centre County Courthouse Friday, June 22, 2012, after being found guilty in his sexual abuse trial, in Bellefonte, Pa. Sandusky was convicted of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years Friday, accusations that had sent shock waves through the college campus known as Happy Valley and led to the firing of Penn State's beloved Hall of Fame coach, Joe Paterno. (AP Photo/Centre Daily Times, Nabil K. Ma
