STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (July 16, 2012)—The family of late Penn State coach Joe Paterno strongly denies the findings of a special investigator who described Paterno coach as one of four high-ranking Penn State officials who covered up child sex abuse allegations against former assistant Jerry Sandusky.

In a statement Monday, the family said they "vehemently disagree" with the conclusions reached by a team of investigators led by former FBI director Louis Freeh.

Freeh's scathing report issued last week said Paterno and other university officials covered up for Sandusky to avoid bad publicity.

It says administrators reversed a decision to report a 2001 encounter between Sandusky and a boy after the athletic director discussed it with Paterno.

Sandusky was convicted last month of 45 counts.

The family has attorneys reviewing the Freeh report and says it is "absolutely not" the last word in the case.