University of Utah Professor Pleads 'Not Guilty' to Watching Child Porn on Flight - But Admits Trading Pics of Teens

On Sunday The Blaze brought you the disturbing story of a man who was arrested for viewing child pornography on a laptop during his first class Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Boston on Saturday afternoon. That man turned out to be none other than 47-year-old Grant Smith, a professor at the University of Utah.

To make matters worse, prosecutors say the father of two purchased the very laptop on which he viewed pornographic images of children aged 5 to 14, with grant money.

According to CBS, Smith, who pleaded not guilty, was arraigned Monday in East Boston District Court. Bail was set at $75,000. If released, he will be prohibited from having unsupervised contact with children.

CBS reports that a passenger noticed Smith looking at the images in question and promptly alerted the flight crew. In addition, the passenger reportedly e-mailed a relative and asked them to call police.

Investigators say Smith began to erase the dubious files after a flight attendant told him to shut off his computer.

CBS explains what happened next:

State troopers met Smith after the plane landed at Logan Airport and took him into custody.

Police say they found several disturbing files on his laptop, including photos of children, mostly girls, ranging from 5-to-14 years old.

Smith has been charged with possession of child pornography. He was also ordered to stay off the Internet, unless it’s for business purposes.

Smith is a divorced father of two young children. He is a professor of material science and engineering and an adjunct professor of chemical engineering at the University of Utah.

Prosecutors say his laptop was purchased with grant money.

While Smith does not have a criminal record, prosecutors said he admitted to police that he has traded pictures of teenagers over the Internet.

State police spokesman David Procopio issued the following harsh statement about the arrest:

In the view of the State Police, child pornography is a form of child sexual abuse–nothing less. Those who possess it — a crime unto itself — foster an evil network that sexually abuses and exploits children irreparably.

Stopping child pornographers is a critical part of our mission to protect children. Along with our federal and local partners, we execute dozens of warrants related to this wicked crime each year. One hopes there is a special place in Hell for the evil people who make, trade, and possess child pornography. Until they get there, we are committed to putting them in jail.

Smith is due back in court December 27th.