PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Former FBI director Louis Freeh, in an investigative report of Penn State University released on Thursday, blamed late legendary football coach Joe Paterno and other top school officials for failing to alert police about child sex abuse by his assistant Jerry Sandusky.

The highly-anticipated conclusion to Freeh's eight-month investigation into Penn State's handling of the scandal blasted the most powerful leaders at the school for not notifying authorities, which prosecutors say allowed the abuse to continue.

Freeh, in prepared remarks he was to deliver later on Thursday, said Paterno and others showed "total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims."

Freeh was hired by Penn State's Board of Trustees in November to lead an internal review of the case that rocked the high-stakes world of collegiate sports and cost both Paterno, the winningest coach in college football history, and university president Graham Spanier their jobs.

(Reporting by Dave Warner; Editing by Vicki Allen)