Former Professor Faces Child Porn Charges Cheney Man Accused Of Downloading Images On Ewu Computer

A former Eastern Washington University geology professor faces 122 counts of receiving child pornography by computer in one of the first such prosecutions in the region.

Russell C. Boggs is accused of using a state-owned MacIntosh computer to down-load pornographic pictures of children last year in his EWU office.

The 43-year-old Cheney man was indicted Tuesday on the charges of receiving child pornography by computer and one count of possessing child porn.

An investigation by university police and federal agents found 122 images on the computer’s hard drive that depict children, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Johnson.

The images were loaded onto Boggs’ computer between Jan. 24 and June 6, 1995, the indictment alleges.

The children, estimated to be 15 years old or younger, are engaged in sex acts with adults and other children, Johnson said.

Other pictures show genitalia of individual children.

“We believe that some of the images were produced overseas, and all were transmitted interstate,” the federal prosecutor said.

The indictment against Boggs was returned after a federal grand jury secretly heard evidence uncovered in a seven-month investigation.

“People who are collecting and distributing child pornography with their computer through the Internet need to know that this activity is illegal,” said U.S. Customs Service agent Marcus Lawson.

Investigators found 4,000 pornographic pictures on Boggs’ computer, which automatically logged the date and time each picture was received, Johnson said.

After analyzing the pictures, investigators determined that 122 of them involved children 15 years old or younger. The others involved adults or older children.

On one day, he is accused of using Netscape and the World Wide Web to locate and down-load 52 pictures of children in sexually explicit poses, court documents allege.

The MacIntosh Quadra computer and an additional hard drive, both owned by EWU, were seized as evidence.

Boggs also had a smaller, older computer which police found in his Cheney home, but it apparently wasn’t being used for pornography, authorities said.

“Child pornography is rampant on the Internet because of the anonymity of the user,” Johnson said. “It’s becoming a vehicle for pedophiles and child molesters.”

The investigation began last June after fellow geology professors spotted Boggs printing pictures on EWU computer printers.

Boggs was suspended from the EWU faculty in July and resigned in August after the university launched termination proceedings against him.

He couldn’t be reached for comment at his Cheney home, which he reportedly is converting to a bed-and-breakfast guest house.

Last July, Boggs said he was collecting the photographs for his wife’s “research project.” She is not named in the indictment.

He is expected to voluntarily surrender for an initial appearance sometime in the next couple of weeks before U.S. Magistrate Cynthia Imbrogno.

If convicted of the computer pornography charges, he could receive a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of possessing child pornography carries a maximum consecutive term of five years in prison.

Lawson, who specializes in pornography investigations for the Customs Service, said the federal computer porn laws were enacted to protect children.

“What you’re looking at in these computer pictures are photographs of children being victimized by adults,” the Customs agent said.

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