University of Utah professor due in East Boston court to face child porn charges

By Globe Staff
A University of Utah professor is due in an East Boston courtroom today, charged with viewing child pornography on his laptop while flying from Salt Lake City to Boston.
Grant D. Smith, 47, of Cottonwood Heights, was apprehended after a passenger seated behind his first class seat on the Delta flight took a picture of what he was doing and sent an email to a relative in Arizona that said to contact police, according to State Police spokesman David Procopio.
State Police troopers met his flight on Saturday, searched his laptop and allegedly discovered “disturbing images of child pornography,” Procopio said.

Smith is a professor of material science and engineering and an adjunct professor of chemical engineering at the University of Utah. He was placed on administrative leave by the university following his arrest.
“Professor Smith deserves a full and fair investigation into this issue,” the university said in the statement, which was released on Sunday. “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 school’s statement continued, “as a result, if the allegations against Professor Smith are found to be true, the University will immediately seek Professor Smith’s dismissal.”
Procopio said the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is run by the State Police and specializes in investigation of online sexual exploitation and trafficking of children, has joined the investigation.
Smith has been held on $15,000 cash bail since his arrest.