Sport News : Jerry Sandusky case heads to trial after hearing waived

Jerry Sandusky, 67, has maintained his innocence on charges of molesting 10 boys over more than a decade.

The scandal over the sex abuse allegations has rocked Penn State University and the multibillion dollar world of U.S. college athletics. It ended the career of legendary head football coach Joe Paterno, who along with the university's president was fired on November 9

Although no date has been set for a trial, which could be several months or even over a year away, Sandusky will return to court on January 11 to have the charges against him formally read by the judge.

"We are not in any way conceding guilt. Today's decision was a tactical measure," Joe Amendola, Sandusky's defense attorney, told reporters outside the courtroom in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Tuesday's preliminary hearing had been expected to determine whether there i s enough evidence to hold Sandusky for trial.

Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General Marc Costanzo said that prosecutors had 11 witnesses -- including some alleged victims -- ready to testify that Sandusky was a serial child sex abuser.

"The decision is surprising," Costanzo said of Sandusky's decision to waive the hearing.

Sandusky's decision immediately prompted speculation that he may seek a deal to plead guilty in return for a reduced prison sentence.

"I think the chances are really good" of a plea bargain, said Slade McLaughlin, a lawyer representing Victim One, whom Sandusky is alleged to have abused more than 20 times in 2007 and 2008.

But Costanzo said there is no talk of such a deal at this point.

Audible gasps were heard in the packed courtroom whe n the announcement of the waiver was made just before the hearing was to begin.

Sandusky, in a dark suit, was lead out of the back of the courthouse in handcuffs and paused to address reporters:

"We fully intend to put together the best possible defense that we can do, to stay the course, to fight for four quarters ... We want the opportunity to present our side," Sandusky said as he emerged from the courtroom.

Costanzo said the waiver "helps the prosecution in a lot of ways," and that Sandusky's alleged victims would avoid having to testify twice in the case.

The attorney for the boy identified in court documents as Victim 6, said Sandusky's legal strategy left him with mixed emotions.

"I would have liked these boys to have the opportunity to tell their story so the public would have had the benefit of assessing those boys and that they are giving testimony from their hearts," said attorney Howard Janet.

Sandusky is the focus of a wide-ranging investigation of alleged child sex abuse over a 15-year period. The original charges were outlined in a 23-page grand jury report in early November, and additional charges have been filed.

Two former university officials have also been charged in an alleged cover-up of Sandusky's activities, and have said they were innocent.

The alleged sex abuse victims met Sandusky through their participation in The Second Mile, a charity to help troubled children he founded in 1977.