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SALT LAKE CITY — A University of Utah professor accused of viewing child pornography on his lap top while on a flight from Salt Lake City to Boston has posted bail.
Grant D. Smith, 47, of Cottonwood Heights, had been in the Suffolk County Jail in Massachusetts since his arrest on Nov. 26. The Suffolk County Sheriff's office confirmed that Smith posted his $75,000 bail sometime on Monday.
It was unknown Tuesday whether Smith remained in the Boston area or attempted to return to Utah. A judge had previously set several several conditions should he make bail, such as no unsupervised contact with children under 16, use the Internet only for his professional job, and allow police to search his computers at any time. He also had to surrender his passport.
Smith's next scheduled court date is Dec. 27. He was arrested after at least two passengers on a Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Boston's Logan International Airport said he had been viewing child porn during the flight.
Smith, whose divorce to his wife of more than 20 years was finalized the day before the flight, was arrested at the airport.
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A University of Utah professor accused of viewing child pornography on his lap top while on a flight from Salt Lake City to Boston has posted bail.According to a press release from the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office in Massachusetts, state troopers who arrested Smith at the Boston airport found multiple images of young girls on Smith's computer, some naked and engaged in sexual acts with adult men. The children were believed to be between the ages of 5 and 14.
"These weren't photos of a child in the bath that a parent might keep," said Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. "These were explicitly sexual and extremely disturbing."
Smith is a professor of materials science and engineering at the U. He was placed on administrative leave, and the school says it will permanently dismiss him if the allegations are true.
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