The shocking details emerging from the Jerry Sandusky trial are raising a lot of questions about his wife of 46 years, Dottie Sandusky.
The prosecution could wrap up its case by Thursday afternoon, and the defense may begin presenting its case Friday. Dottie Sandusky is expected to testify in support of her husband, but she hasn't been in court with him so far because she's a potential witness. Witnesses aren't allowed in the courtroom until the judge permits them.
Dottie Sandusky has led a relatively private life, but here's what we do know about her: She is originally from
The Sanduskys also fostered several children throughout their marriage. Dottie Sandusky also helped her husband start The Second Mile charity for underprivileged children in 1977. Prosecutors say Jerry Sandusky found his victims at The Second Mile.
In his autobiography, “Touched,” Jerry Sandusky wrote about his courtship with his wife.
“I was always very shy and backward; never one to be aggressive socially. Even though I spent time talking with Dottie a couple of times, I couldn’t bring myself to ask her out on a real date," he wrote. "It was a good thing my mother wasn’t as shy and backward as me. It was thanks to her, after all, that I ended up getting together with Dottie on a regular basis.
"She asked her to come to a softball game I was playing, and I ended up taking her home. Maybe I just needed that one little push because one thing led to another, and before long, we had become closer," he wrote.
In a 1982 interview with Sports Illustrated, Dottie Sandusky talked about starting The Second Mile.
"After we had taken in some foster children, we saw the opportunities that some kids just hadn't had. But we'd gotten to the point where we couldn't take in any more, so Jerry started thinking about starting a group home,” she said.
Since the scandal broke, she has released a statement declaring her husband's innocence.
“As the mother of six children, I have been devastated by these accusations. I am also angry about these false accusations that such a terrible incident ever occurred in my home. No child who ever visited our home was ever forced to stay in our basement and fed there. All the kids who visited us ate with us and our kids and other guests when they were at our home. 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,” the statement read.
