Dec. 07--A University of Utah professor arrested last month for surfing child porn in first class on a flight to Boston the day after a Salt Lake County district court granted him joint legal custody of his own kids posted $75,000 cash bail at Nashua Street Jail Monday and was released.
The whereabouts of Grant D. Smith, 47, of Cottonwood Heights, Utah, could not be confirmed yesterday by the Herald. And while police are still processing the contents of Smith's work and home computers, Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore Jr. said residents of his upscale bedroom community are more curious than creeped out.
"I would think if someone was concerned about their child being improperly involved with this individual we would have heard by now, and the fact that we haven't is of great relief to us," Cullimore said.
Neither Smith's Boston defense attorney nor his divorce lawyer in Utah returned calls from the Herald seeking comment.
Conditions of Smith's bail require him to have no unsupervised contact with children under 16 years of age. He's forbidden to use the Internet except for professional research. Facing a minimum of 10 years in state prison, and due back in East Boston District Court on Dec. 27, Smith has pleaded not guilty to charges he was looking at images of naked girls ages 5 to 14 having sex with adult men.
Cottonwood Heights Police Chief Robby Russo said Smith, who Utah court records show also owns property in Kihei, Hawaii, is not mandated to check in with his department if he returns to town. Russo was unaware if he had.
University of Utah spokesman Remi Barron said last night that Smith, a $170,000-per-year professor of materials science and engineering who was believed to be headed to Beantown for an academic event, remains on paid administrative leave. The school has been unable to contact him, Barron said.
"He's not allowed to come to his classes, his office," Barron said. "If the charges are found to be true, he won't be coming back at all."
Smith's divorce from his wife and their parenting plan became final on Nov. 25 -- the day before he was arrested at Logan Airport -- according to a copy of the decree obtained by the Herald. In addition to assuming responsibility for the family's $60,000 credit card debt and being granted joint custody of his children, ages 10 and 8, Smith agreed to pay his ex $2,000 a month in child support.
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