STATE COLLEGE, Pa.—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.