--- description: "I'm not a weak spouse," wife says title: Jerry Sandusky's Innocent, says Dottie Sandusky image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Dottie Sandusky on TODAY Show: Jerry "Did Not Do Those Horrible Crimes"  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 11, 2014 5:09 PM CUT  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 11, 2014 5:09 PM CUT In an exclusive interview with Matt Lauer airing on the TODAY show Wednesday, Dottie Sandusky defended her husband, former Penn State coach and convicted child sex offender Jerry Sandusky, and spoke out against critics who questioned her role in the Penn State sex scandal. “I’m not a weak spouse,” she said. “They call me ‘Sarge’ because Jerry said I kept everybody in line.” She also addressed criticism that she may have enabled Sandusky’s abuse, or at least turned a blind eye. “If they want to say that, let them say that,” she said. “I know who I am.” Sandusky also continued to deny that the abuse ever happened. “I know he did not do the horrible crimes that he’s convicted of,” she said. She said her husband misses family meals and playing with his grandkids while he serves his 30-60 years in prison for child molestation. \[[TODAY](http://www.today.com/news/jerry-sanduskys-wife-appear-today-wednesday-2D79356547 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/20060/dottie-sandusky-on-today-show-jerry-did-not-do-those-horrible-crimes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/20060/dottie-sandusky-on-today-show-jerry-did-not-do-those-horrible-crimes/"},"headline":"Dottie Sandusky on TODAY Show: Jerry \"Did Not Do Those Horrible Crimes\"","datePublished":"2014-03-11T17:09:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:54:59.687Z","description":"\"I'm not a weak spouse,\" wife says","url":"https://time.com/20060/dottie-sandusky-on-today-show-jerry-did-not-do-those-horrible-crimes/","keywords":["Living","today show","Scandal"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/20060/dottie-sandusky-on-today-show-jerry-did-not-do-those-horrible-crimes/","name":"Dottie Sandusky on TODAY Show: Jerry \"Did Not Do Those Horrible Crimes\""}}]}] ```