Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after a jury convicted him on 45 of 48 counts related to sexual abuse of boys, ending a painful chapter for victims and the entire university.

But the ordeal is not over, as Sandusky's defense team announced plans to appeal despite the mountain of convictions against his client.

"If you win on one of the appeal issues, everything probably falls," attorney Joe Amendola said. "So all we have to do is convince an appellate court that one of the issues that we will raise is worthy of a reversal. ... It doesn't matter, it could be 100 counts, and it would still all come back if an appeal is granted."

His co-counsel, Karl Rominger, cited questionable court decisions during the trial as grounds for appeal.

"The judge was very fair to us on many levels, but there were a lot of unique legal issues where he made rulings that could be overturned, not because they were, per se, wrong, but because the law in the area was so unclear," Rominger said.

He said "substantial constitutional questions" surrounded the prosecution's ability to use an accuser's claims based on hearsay alone. "All the convictions could come back on that ruling alone," Rominger said.

The attorney said Saturday that Sandusky has been placed on a suicide watch for his own safety. He is being held in protective custody, in an area separate from other inmates, as he awaits sentencing.

Jurors delivered the verdict late Friday night after deliberating for 21 hours over two days. They brought convictions related to all 10 sexual abuse victims, with the three not-guilty verdicts applying to three different individuals.

Sandusky stood slightly hunched, looking down with his hand in his pocket but showing no visible emotion as the guilty verdicts were read out in court. His wife, Dottie, blinked back tears.

Judge John Cleland revoked Sandusky's bail and ordered his arrest.

As Sandusky left the courthouse in handcuffs, reporters asked if he had anything to say to the victims. The 68-year-old remained silent as he ducked into the back seat of a police car destined for the Centre County jail.

"The Sandusky family is very disappointed, obviously, by the verdict of the jury, but we respect their verdict," Amendola told reporters gathered outside the courthouse. Jeering crowds occasionally interrupted his comments.

At the same time, Amendola pointed to a "tidal wave of public opinion" against his client as one of several factors that led him to believe this outcome wasn't surprising.

"It was the expected outcome because of the overwhelming evidence against Jerry Sandusky," he said.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly, expressed satisfaction in the jury's decision to hold the ex-coach accountable. She was especially thankful for the victims who testified, in some cases many years after they were abused.

"It was incredibly difficult for some of them to unearth long buried memories of (what) they had suffered," Kelly said. "This trial was not something that they sought, but rather something that forced them to face the demons of their past."

Back inside the courtroom, the young man identified in court documents as Victim 6 was in tears as he hugged prosecutors.

Sandusky should be sentenced in about 90 days, the judge said. Jurors did not speak with the media immediately after the verdict.

The case has gripped the nation since last fall and led to the dismissal of legendary coach Joe Paterno and one of America's highest-paid university president, Graham Spanier.

The family of Paterno, who died in January, issued a statement Friday after the verdict.