Lawyer explains why Sandusky showered with boys

(CBS/AP) Jerrys Sandusky's interview last month in which he denied sexually abusing boys but only "horsed around" with them in the showers was unconvincing at best, and cringe-worthy at worst.

But this week, his lawyers may be making matters worse.

On Tuesday, Sandusky's lead attorney Joe Amendola inadvertently touted a gay sex phone line when he said that anyone who believes Penn State officials thought his client raped a 10-year-old boy and did little about it should call 1-800-REALITY. (The phone number is that of a sex line for gay and bi-curious men).

Now, Sandusky attorney Karl Rominger has raised some eyebrows in an interview with WHTM-TV.

Rominger justified Sandusky's showering with boys, saying that some of the troubled children helped by The Second Mile charity lacked basic hygiene skills.

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"Teaching a person to shower at the age of 12 or 14 sounds strange to some people, but people who work with troubled youth will tell you there are a lot of juvenile delinquents and people who are dependent who have to be taught basic life skills like how to put soap on their body," Rominger said.

Rominger later told the station that media accounts of his answer have become "somewhat exaggerated."

Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach, backed out of a preliminary hearing at the last minute Tuesday, avoiding a face-to-face confrontation with accusers who his lawyer said were just trying to cash in by making up stories of child sex abuse.