STATE COLLEGE (Reuters) ? The lawyer for former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky said on Tuesday one alleged child rape victim will tell "a very different story" from grand jury testimony.
Joe Amendola said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show that he thinks he has located the man, now in his mid-20s, who was allegedly raped by Sandusky in 2002 as a young boy.
"We believe we've found him and if we have found him, he is telling a very different story than Mike McQueary. ... He is saying it never happened," Amendola said.
According to his recent grand jury testimony, McQueary, then a graduate assistant on the football team, told team officials but not police in 2002 that he witnessed Sandusky sexually assaulting a boy in the team showers.
Sandusky was charged on November 5 with 40 counts of sexual assault involving eight boys over more than a decade.
Amendola's comments were made in one of a string of television interviews in the past day, in addition to Sandusky's first public comments Monday night -- a move that surprised some legal experts.
Since the scandal broke, Penn State's revered football coach, Joe Paterno, and the university president have been fired by the university's board of trustees. The head of The Second Mile, the children's charity formed by Sandusky and where he met all of his alleged victims, has also resigned.
Amendola also questioned the motives of Sandusky's accusers. "We have a bunch of people who have read the allegations, realize that there is a large university involved and there may be a lot of money," he said.
On Monday night, Sandusky professed his innocence in a telephone interview on NBC's "Rock Center with Brian Williams."
"I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their leg. Without intent of sexual contact. But -- so if you look at it that way -- there are things that wouldn't -- you know, would be accurate," said Sandusky, 67.
Asked if he is a pedophile, Sandusky said "No."
When asked if he was sexually attracted to underage boys, Sandusky seemed to hesitate. He repeated the question before replying:
"Sexually attracted, you know, I enjoy young people. I love to be around them. But no, I'm not sexually attracted to young boys."
Sandusky also talked about the 2002 incident described by McQueary, now an assistant coach with Penn State.
"We were showering and horsing around ... we were, as I recall, possibly, like, snapping a towel, horseplay."
Some legal experts were surprised Amendola would allow Sandusky to make public comments.
Ronald Allen, a professor at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, was staggered that Amendola agreed to let his client speak to the media, saying any comments "can be used to impeach" a defendant in court.
"Nothing good can come from a prospective defendant giving a public interview. From the legal point of view it's really ill-advised," Allen said.
Sandusky's interview riveted residents around the university campus, which has been in turmoil since he was indicted.
Early on Tuesday morning, as Sandusky's interview was being rebroadcast, students at the Bar Bleu in downtown State College sat motionless. There were groans when the former defensive coach said he enjoys being around children. Some viewers swore at the screen.
Therese Jones, a 2009 graduate of Penn State, said she was not persuaded by Sandusky's claims of innocence.
"He didn't seem to have very good, convincing explanations for the charges," said Jones, an organizer of Saturday's "blue out" campaign on campus to raise awareness about child abuse.
At least one viewer was prepared to give the Sandusky the benefit of the doubt.
Graduate student Stuart Shapiro recalled the "rush to judgment" in the 2006 case of three lacrosse players at Duke University who were indicted on rape charges but later cleared.
"None of us know whether Sandusky's innocent or guilty. Once it goes to trial, we will find out what people did or didn't do," Shapiro said.
The New York Times reported late on Monday that about 10 additional victims may have come forward, citing sources close to the investigation.
Two former university officials, Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, have also been charged with not reporting the alleged 2002 incident. They have also professed their innocence.
(Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder in State College, Carlyn Kolker in New York and Alexandra Alper in Washington; writing by Ros Krasny; Editing by Philip Barbara and Doina Chiacu)
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