Penn State football rocked by sexual abuse scandal

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky sits in a car while leaving the Centre County Courthouse, on Tuesday in Bellefonte, Pa.  (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

Sandusky arrives with his wife, Dottie, at Centre County Courthouse on Dec. 13.  (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

Sandusky‘s attorney Joe Amendola, top center, is surrounded by media outside the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., on Tuesday. Amendola was explaining the reason behind Sandusky waiving his right to a preliminary hear that was scheduled for Tuesday.  (Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

Howard Janet, an attorney for alleged victim No. 6, speaks after a preliminary hearing for Sandusky was waived Tuesday.  (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

Sandusky, center, gets out of a car in front of his home Dec. 8 in State College, Pa. Sandusky was released from jail Thursday after spending a night behind bars following a new round of child sex abuse charges filed against him.  (Genaro C. Armas / Associated Press)

A news van was toppled by protesters.  (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

Joe Paterno and his wife, Sue, greet supporters at their home in State College, Pa., on Nov. 9, 2011, the night the university’s Board of Trustees announced he was ousted as Penn State’s football coach.  (Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

Police wear riot gear as crowds build on the streets.  (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

The streets of State College, Pa., fill with students and members of the community Wednesday night after the Penn State Board of Trustees fired football coach Joe Paterno.  (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)

Penn State students, one holding a cutout of Joe Paterno, rally in defense of the ousted coach near the campus in State College, Pa.  (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

Penn State football Coach Joe Paterno arrives home in State College, Pa. Paterno was fired Wednesday night, his long career brought down by his failure to do more about an allegation of child sex abuse against a former assistant. Paterno said in a statement earlier Wednesday that he is “absolutely devastated” by the developments in the case of Jerry Sandusky, a former defensive coordinator accused of molesting eight boys over 15 years.  (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

Students rally in support of Penn State football Coach Joe Paterno near the school’s campus Tuesday, on a day when Paterno’s support among the Penn State board of trustees was described as “eroding.” He announced his retirement on Wednesday.  (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno is carried on the shoulders of his players after his 324th career win, defeating Ohio State at Beaver Field on Oct. 27, 2001, in State College, Pa.  (Jamie Squire / Allsport)

Joe Paterno walks off the field after warmups before Penn State’s game against Northwestern, in Evanston, Ill.  (Jim Prisching / Associated Press)

Penn State Assistant Athletic Director Jeff Nelson on Tuesday announces the cancellation of Coach Joe Paterno‘s weekly news conference Tuesday in State College, Pa. Paterno announced his retirement Wednesday. Pennsylvania Atty. Gen. Linda Kelly confirmed Monday that Paterno is not a target of the criminal case involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who was charged with sexually abusing eight boys over a 15-year period.  (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

Former Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley, center, and former university vice president Gary Schultz, right, walk into the Magisterial District Court to be arraigned on charges of perjury and failure to report under Pennsylvania’s child protective services law on Monday. The two high-ranking Penn State administrators have resigned and will face arraignment on charges they lied to a grand jury investigating suspected child abuse involving the university’s former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.  (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)

Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is carried by players on Dec. 28, 1999, after Penn State defeated Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl, in San Antonio, Texas.   (Eric Gay / Associated Press)