By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG (CBS) — Now that Jerry Sandusky has been convicted of child sex abuse charges, Governor Tom Corbett is offering a bit more on why the investigation took so long, saying the former coach’s sterling reputation made it necessary to corroborate allegations of child sex abuse before bringing charges.

Corbett admits he worried that Jerry Sandusky could still me victimizing boys as the probe continued, but he says his fears were allayed somewhat by the belief that Sandusky “had to know” he was being investigated.

“It was a calculated risk,” Corbett said. “Not the one that you really easily want to take.”

Corbett says because of Sandusky’s celebrity – a beloved football coach who founded a charity – he believed he had to corroborate child sex abuse allegations. He says charging in only one case would have been risky.

“If we lose that case, you’re never going to get a shot,” he said. “First off, if you go with one case and you lose it, there could have been other victims out there who wouldn’t come forward.”

And the governor says one reason he appointed Linda Kelly to succeed him as attorney general was her experience in handling these types of cases.