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Man arrested for viewing child porn on airplane

Grant Smith University of Utah

(CBS/AP) BOSTON - A Utah man was arrested Saturday after police say he viewed child pornography on his laptop while flying between Salt Lake City and Boston.

Grant Smith, 47, was sitting in first class on the Delta flight when a fellow passenger allegedly saw the images on Smith's computer and alerted the flight crew. The passenger also reportedly called a family member and asked him to call the police.

Just after the plane landed at Logan Airport, Smith was met by state troopers who asked to see his computer. He obliged, and was arrested. Smith has been charged with possessing child pornography and is being held on $15,000 bail. He is being arraigned Monday.

According to the Boston Globe, Smith is a professor at the University of Utah.

In response to the arrest, Massachusetts State Police Spokesman David Procipio issued this statement:

"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."

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