Jerry Sandusky was convicted Friday of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years, with the jury finding him guilty of 45 of 48 counts. He faces the possibility of life in prison.

QUESTION: What were the charges?

ANSWER: Sandusky was charged with 48 counts of child sex abuse involving 10 alleged victims over a 15-year span dating back to the mid-1990s. The charges were nine counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, nine counts of indecent assault, nine counts of unlawful contact with a minor, 10 counts of corruption of minors, 10 counts of endangering a child’s welfare and one count of attempted indecent assault.

At the beginning of trial, Sandusky faced 52 counts.

One count of unlawful contact with a minor was dropped mid-trial because the statute didn’t apply at the time of the alleged encounter.

The judge threw out three counts after testimony ended: two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and one count of aggravated indecent assault. The judge said the first two charges did not bear out what testimony revealed and the third was the same as another count.

QUESTION: Now that Sandusky has been convicted, what kind of punishment could he receive?

ANSWER: Had the jury found him guilty of all charges, the maximum possible sentence would have added up to about 500 years. Sandusky’s lawyer Joseph Amendola called it a “life sentence.” Sandusky went to the Centre County Correctional Facility immediately after the judge revoked his bail and ordered him jailed.

QUESTION: How did Sandusky explain his actions?

ANSWER: Sandusky has acknowledged publicly that he “horsed around” with young boys, showered with them after workouts, hugged them and had other physical contact but said he never acted with sexual intent. He said in interviews after his arrest that he is not a pedophile but in retrospect realizes that he should not have showered with the boys. Sandusky did not testify in his own defense.

QUESTION: What was the defense team’s strategy?

ANSWER: Defense attorney Joseph Amendola said the allegations were flimsy and suggested some accusers had a financial stake in the outcome because they want to sue Sandusky and others. Amendola also tried to undermine the credibility of the victims, as well as former football team assistant Mike McQueary, who testified seeing Sandusky naked in a shower with a boy in 2001.

Amendola also suggested some of Sandusky’s interactions with boys are not indicative of pedophilia but of histrionic personality disorder, a condition in which someone behaves in a dramatic fashion to get attention.