Despite his claims to the contrary, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is a perverted sociopath and deserves the 30- to 60-year prison sentence he was handed Tuesday.

Actually, he deserved much more, but the requirement under Pennsylvania law that he serve at least the minimum sentence behind bars means that he likely will spend the rest of his life in prison. He’s now 68.

One of Sandusky’s sexual-abuse victims who spoke at Tuesday’s sentencing hearing said Sandusky is in denial and should “stop coming up with excuses.” The victim is correct.

At the hearing, Sandusky gave a rambling statement in which he continued to deny the allegations that led to his conviction in June on 45 counts of child sexual abuse. He was convicted of molesting 10 boys over a 15-year period.

Judge John Cleland, who sentenced Sandusky, called the former coach “dangerous.” That word is an understatement, given what Sandusky has done.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Sandusky talked about his life in prison and the pain of being away from his family. His statement ignored the pain he inflicted on his victims and the childhood life of innocence that he took away from them.

No one should feel sorry for this man who harmed so many, certainly not the university that faces years of recovery because of Sandusky’s crimes.

And despite the fact that Sandusky has received severe punishment, Penn State’s nightmare isn’t over, with a January trial pending for Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, two university administrators charged with failing to properly report suspicions about Sandusky and lying to the grand jury that investigated him.

The university also must deal with a number of lawsuits stemming from the Sandusky case, NCAA sanctions against the football team — no members of which had a role in the scandal — and the blot on the university’s reputation in general.

The Sandusky case is a primer in how much damage one person can do, yet Sandusky described himself in a monologue aired Monday night by Penn State Com Radio as the victim of Penn State, investigators, civil attorneys, the media and others.

He has indicated that he plans an appeal, arguing that his defense lawyers had insufficient time to prepare for his trial.

He has a right to appeal and the courts should give him a fair hearing. However, he shouldn’t expect any miracles, just like his victims cannot be accorded the miracle of relief from the terrible memories of the horrors they experienced.

Jerry Sandusky is going where he deserves to be — now and for the rest of his life.