Jerry Sandusky statement is absurd and offensive, but what did we expect?

If you haven't heard Jerry Sandusky's statement in advance of his sentencing Tuesday, you can find it here -- clicking the link should cause the audio to download to your computer. There's also a transcript here.

It sounds like Sandusky is doubling down on his claims of innocence of the crimes of child sexual abuse for which he's been convicted, which is a shame, but on a purely Machiavellian level, I suppose it makes sense -- he'll surely be sentenced to die in jail no matter what he does.

Sandusky claims he did not commit "these alleged, disgusting acts," and says that the only person he has ever had sex with is his wife. He heads from there straight into a wild accusation of conspiracy:

He [the first accuser] was joined by a well-orchestrated effort of the media, investigators, the system, Penn State, psychologists, civil attorneys and other accusers. They won. I’ve wondered what they really won: Attention, financial gain, prestige will all be temporary.

"The system"? What is this, a Rage Against the Machine album? At this point, these vague denials speak for themselves, especially when contrasted with Sandusky's interview with Bob Costas before his trial, and with his weak defense at trial. (He claims in the statement that he didn't have enough time to prepare.) And the idea that Penn State was involved in a conspiracy to get him convicted, as opposed to a conspiracy to cover up his crimes, is unintentionally hilarious.

Sickeningly, Sandusky goes on to blame his victims, claiming that "all came to The Second Mile," an endless queue of young boys for Sandusky to abuse that Sandusky created and disguised as a charity, "because of issues." The idea that these boys targeted Sandusky because of "issues" is, of course, exactly backwards, and in an incredibly cynical, disgusting way. The fact that these boys had "issues" (and, often, absent parents) made them targets of abuse, because there would be no one around to notice anything strange was happening to them. Now, Sandusky, after abusing them, is using their "issues" against them once again.

That Sandusky would try this is, of course, not that surprising. One of his attorneys, Karl Rominger, once explained that Sandusky showered with young boys from The Second Mile because "some of these kids don't have basic hygiene skills."

"Teaching a person to shower at the age of 12 or 14 sounds strange to some people, but people who work with troubled youth will tell you there are a lot of juvenile delinquents and people who are dependent who have to be taught basic life skills, like how to put soap on their body."

These boys had had rough lives even before Sandusky came along. Not only did he abuse them, but now he's using their previous circumstances to discredit them. It's incredibly cruel.

Not that we should be surprised. We already knew Sandusky was a monster. Fortunately, he's almost out of options. On Tuesday, he'll be sentenced to life in prison, and we can take at least some comfort in the oblivion that awaits him.