Jerry Sandusky found guilty of child sex abuse, could spend rest of his life in prison.

Story by Dan Wetzel for yahoo sports

BELLEFONTE, Pa. – Jerry Sandusky was found guilty Friday night of child sexual molestation.

A jury of Sandusky's Centre County, Pa., neighbors determined that the former Penn State defensive coordinator sexually abused children over a 15-year period, using his stature as a local coaching hero and his position with the Second Mile charity to target and then violate at-risk kids from the area.

The jury deliberated for about 20 hours after a trial that stretched across eight days at Centre County Courthouse.

Sandusky will be sentenced at a later date by Judge John Cleland. The precise number of years he faces in prison is unclear, but legal experts say it should be enough to lock the 68-year-old away for life.

[Related: Sandusky, Ohio: Proud city fights off an adverse double meaning]

The case rocked this pristine college area when Sandusky was indicted last November. It led to the firing of iconic head football coach Joe Paterno and school president Graham Spanier. Two other university officials, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, are facing criminal charges for failure to report a crime and perjury. Paterno died of lung cancer in January at age 85.

The state presented an overwhelming case against Sandusky. It was highlighted by powerful personal testimony from eight victims who detailed, often through sobs and gasps of breath, how Sandusky molested them in Penn State locker rooms, Sandusky's basement and hotel rooms.

Sandusky often used his access to Penn State facilities and the football program to lure pre-adolescents into situations where they were alone and the kids were vulnerable.

The state also used testimony from former Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary, who said he walked in on Sandusky and a boy in the locker room showers in 2001, and hearsay testimony from two Penn State janitors who said a third janitor – now senile – saw a similar incident in 2000.

[Related: Most of the seven women, five men on the jury had Penn State ties]

The defense acknowledged from the start it faced a considerable challenge and tried to paint Sandusky as an innocent victim of a grand conspiracy of police and financially motivated victims.

"We were facing such an uphill battle," defense attorney Joe Amendola said after closing arguments. "It was like climbing Mt. Everest from the base. We just tried to get to an even playing field."

It turns out they couldn't.

Commentary: I certainly hope and pray that justice has been served in this matter.  It's amazing how a person's life is turned upside down, when they've experienced something along these lines.