Lead prosecutor Senior Deputy Attorney General Joseph McGettigan III said in court the 82-year-old Sandusky was a serial predator who took advantage of fatherless children or those with unstable home lives and sexually abused them for years.
McGettigan showed the jury of seven women and five men pictures of the accusers and said that prosecutors will attempt to prove that Sandusky was a pedophile whose activities took place "not over days, not over weeks, not even over months, but in some cases over years." He said prosecutors will show a pattern in which Sandusky groomed boys, gave them gifts and then abused them.
Sandusky's defense team told jurors the former coach routinely showered with kids after work outs, but nothing sexual happened. They claimed the victims were looking for financial gain.
Sandusky has been accused on 52 counts of sexually abusing 10 boys over more than 15 years. Sandusky has acknowledged "horsing around" with boys, but denies doing anything inappropriate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
