Joe Paterno’s widow, Sue Paterno, speaks out about the controversy that surrounded the final days of his husband’s life. In a report from CBS and the Associated Press, Mrs. Paterno said that she and her husband were ignorant about acts of sexual predators like Jerry Sandusky. She did not realize during the time her husband and Sandusky has been working together that the former Penn State football coach was abusing the boys they have met. Most of whom have been introduced to them through the children’s charity that Sandusky founded.

Sue Paterno said, “We have been unaware of how a predator behaves.” She was at a program celebrating Child Abuse Awareness Month in Pennsylvania. "In many cases, we unknowingly helped him `groom' his victims while we thought we were helping a child achieve self-esteem and find a better life," she added.

Mrs. Paterno said she was horrified when she discovered the truth about Sandusky after his arrest last November 2011.

Her husband, a College Football Coach Hall of Fame coach have led the Penn State’s Nittany Lions for 46 years and died at the age of 85 last January 2012.

"The last 17 months have been filled with disbelief, horror, the pain of loss, sleepless nights, praying for the victims and for peace of mind for those who unwittingly were too naive to recognize the signs of abuse," Mrs. Paterno said.

Jay Paterno, one of the couple’s five children, also spoke at the event sponsored by the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance.

Angela Liddle, the group’s executive director said that some members questioned the choice of the Paternos as guests and speakers for the event. She defended and explained the decision depicting the family as “good folks.”

An internal probe led by former FBI director Louis Freeh and was completed in July has accused Paterno as well as three former Penn State administrators for covering up an abuse allegation about Sandusky more than 10 years ago. The probe indicated that the motive for cover-up was to shield the university from bad pr. After the results of the investigation have been released, Paterno was fired by university trustees days after Sandusky was charged.

Joe Paterno’s family has vehemently denied from day one that he had any knowledge of Sandusky’s heinous crime against children.

Last month, a documentary filmmaker who released an interview with Sandusky showed that the suspect said he believes Paterno was “railroaded” in the investigation and conviction of Sandusky for child sexual abuse.

In parts of the interview that was aired on NBC, Sandusky was asked if he thought Paterno would have allowed him to continue as a coach if he suspected him of being a pedophile. His response, “If he absolutely thought I was [a pedophile], I'd say no. If he has a suspicion, I don't know the answer to that."