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Deep Run High Student is Charged in Porn Case / Police Allege Images of Preteens Found on School-Issued Laptop

Posted on: Wednesday, 8 March 2006, 18:00 CST

By MARK BOWES

A Deep Run High School teen has become the first Henrico County student charged with possessing child pornography on one of the school division's new Dell laptop computers.

The 16-year-old's arrest comes more than two months after questionable images were found on his school-issued laptop during a routine computer search for unauthorized programs, Henrico police spokesman Lt. Doug Perry said.

After the images were found Nov. 22, the school division's information technology staff seized the computer and turned it over to school administrators, who then turned it over to police. Investigators found "numerous images" of child pornography on the laptop during a computer forensic examination, Perry said.

The sexually explicit images of preteens had been downloaded from the Internet, Perry said.

The student's name was being withheld because of his age. He was arrested Monday and released to the custody of his parents.

Under state law, a person who knowingly possesses "any sexually explicit visual material utilizing or having as a subject a person less than 18 years of age" is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

The case marks the second time in recent months that police have investigated sexually explicit material on one of the school division's new laptops.

In late November, police disclosed they were investigating a 17- year-old J.R. Tucker High School student for having what authorities believed was child pornography on his laptop. That student will not be charged, Perry said yesterday.

"We did a computer analysis on [the laptop], and we cannot prove that the student did it on purpose," Perry said. "He claims it was an accident, that he didn't know it was on there, and we couldn't prove the intent to do it - so we couldn't charge him."

A Henrico schools spokesman said the system's technology department performs random audits of laptops and servers looking for inappropriate material. Certain words or images flag the system.

He said the checks are performed routinely, but would not specify. "We have a number of measures in place to catch this activity," he said.

Contact staff writer Mark Bowes at mbowes@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6450.

Staff writer Olympia Meola contributed to this report.

Source: Richmond Times - Dispatch

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