NEW YORK (AP) ― Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky said he never spoke with the college’s head football coach Joe Paterno about any suspected misconduct with minors, the New York Times reported Saturday.

Sandusky has been charged with 40 counts of molesting eight boys over 15 years and is free on bail while awaiting a preliminary hearing Dec. 13. A grand jury investigating Sandusky said in a report that some of the allegations occurred in the team showers, including a 2002 allegation in which a graduate assistant coach testified he saw Sandusky assaulting a young boy.

University trustees fired Paterno, who had more wins, 409, than any other major college coach, on Nov. 9, four days after charges were filed against Sandusky, amid mounting pressure that school leaders should have done more to prevent alleged abuse.

During a lengthy interview at his lawyer’s home, Sandusky in an interview with the Times painted a picture of chaotic but friendly scenes involving children he described as extended family at his State College, Pennsylvania, home. The descriptions sharply contrast with the shocking allegations involving children outlined in a grand jury report.

Sandusky told the newspaper he and Paterno never spoke about the alleged 2002 incident or a 1998 child molestation complaint investigated by Penn State campus police.

“I never talked to him about either one,” Sandusky said. “That’s all I can say. I mean, I don’t know.” He worked for Paterno for nearly 30 years.

Messages left Saturday by The Associated Press seeking comment from representatives for Paterno were not immediately returned.

Paterno testified before the grand jury looking into the abuse allegations that a graduate assistant told him in 2002 that he witnessed Sandusky assaulting a young boy in the shower in the team locker room, and that he relayed the report to his superior, athletic director Tim Curley.

The graduate assistant later met with Curley and Gary Schultz, a university vice president who oversaw campus police. But authorities said the allegation was not passed on to authorities.

Curley and Schultz are charged with failing to report the 2002 allegation and lying to the grand jury. Curley is on administrative leave, while Schultz has stepped down. Lawyers for both men have said their clients are innocent.