This July 14, 2012 photo shows the edges of the newly-painted-over halo above the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno on a mural by Michael Pilato in State College. Pilato removed the halo from the painting Saturday amid the school's child sex-abuse scandal. — AP PENNSYLVANIA – The artist who painted a post-mortem halo over Joe Paterno's head on a mural featuring the late Penn State football coach erased it on Saturday following a report that found Paterno helped cover up child sex abuse by a former assistant coach. Michael Pilato said he removed the halo on the outdoor mural in State College, Pennsylvania, home of the main Pennsylvania State University campus, and also painted a blue ribbon for child abuse awareness on Paterno's suit. The move came two days after former FBI Director Louis Freeh released a scathing report that said Penn State leaders including Paterno covered up former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse of children for years. Sandusky, 68, was convicted last month of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years and faces a sentence of up to 373 years in prison. Pilato had previously removed Sandusky from the mural and replaced him with a blue ribbon for child abuse awareness, similar to the one now painted on Paterno's suit. Paterno began trying to amend his contract in January 2011, the same month he learned that his former assistant coach was under criminal investigation for child sex abuse, The New York Times reported. By August 2011, university officials had reached an agreement with Paterno to reward him with a $3 million bonus if he retired at the end of the 2011 season, one season short of his existing contract, which would have expired at the end of 2012, according to the newspaper. A Penn State spokesman said the contract was set to expire at the end of the 2011 football season, not at the end of 2012 as the Times said. He declined further comment on the Times story. — Reuters
