Utah-to-Boston passenger denies child porn charge

National News

A University of Utah professor has pleaded not guilty to viewing child pornography on his laptop during a flight from Salt Lake City to Boston.

Grant Smith, of Cottonwood Heights, Utah, was ordered held on $75,000 bail Monday and told to have no unsupervised contact with children.

Massachusetts State Police say the 47-year-old Smith was sitting in first class Saturday afternoon when another passenger saw pornographic images, alerted a flight attendant and emailed a relative who contacted law enforcement.

Smith was arrested after landing on a charge of possession of child pornography. His lawyer says he has no criminal record.

Smith is a professor in the materials science and engineering department at Utah. He has been placed on administrative leave.

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