Halo painted over Joe Paterno removed from mural

An artist has removed a halo from a large mural of veteran Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in central Pennsylvania.

Artist Michael Pilato had put a halo over Paterno’s image after the coach’s death in January, something he does when a subject passes away.

But he said he felt he had to remove it Saturday after the release of a report concluding that Paterno and other officials buried allegations of sexual abuse against longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky.

Instead, Pilato said, he added a large blue ribbon on Paterno’s lapel symbolizing support for child abuse victims — an idea he said Paterno endorsed before his death.

Pilato earlier removed Sandusky from the mural, and he said he hasn’t made a decision on the image of former university president Graham Spanier.