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.”

“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 what is commonly known as suicide watch for his own safety. He is being held in protective custody, in an area separate from other inmates, as he awaits sentencing.