A University of Utah professor, arrested over the weekend for allegedly viewing child pornography on his laptop during a flight, will be arraigned on Monday in a Boston court.
Police arrested Grant D. Smith, 47, on Saturday when a Delta Airlines flight from Salt Lake City landed at Boston’s Logan Airport.
A passenger tipped off authorities that Smith was using his laptop to view images of child pornography while a passenger in the first class section of the plane, the Massachusetts State Police said.
CNN affiliate WCVB said a passenger took a cellphone photo of Smith allegedly watching the video.
“The notion that someone would be so bold as to view it in public is extraordinary, and I’m not sure what the explanation is,” victim’s advocate, Wendy Murphy, told the station.
Smith is a professor of material science and engineering at the University of Utah, according to The Daily Utah Chronicle, the school’s student newspaper.
He received a bachelor’s degree from the school in 1985 and finished his PhD in 1990, according to the school’s website.
Smith is also president of Wasatch Molecular Inc., a consulting company that helps companies develop advanced materials, according to the company’s website. He was previously an assistant professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri and a senior research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center in California, according to his biography on the company’s website.
He’s been on the faculty at the University of Utah since 1997, according to his Wasatch biography.
In a statement to The Daily Utah Chronicle, the university said Smith has been placed on administrative leave pending a criminal investigation.
“Professor Smith deserves a full and fair investigation into this issue,” the statement said. “The University of Utah, however, has no tolerance for the viewing or possessing of child pornography by any of its employees, regardless of where it occurs.”
The university added that Smith will be fired if the allegations prove true.
Smith was on his way to Boston for a conference, according to WCVB.
Early Monday morning, Smith remained in jail on a $15,000 bond. He has been charged with possession of child pornography.
