The internet can be a dangerous place, especially when searching for porn while using the search term “young.” A former professor at Samford University Cumberland School of Law who was once married to a federal judge recently learned the hard way that such an endeavor can quickly turn into a criminal offense.
Joseph Whitlow Blackburn taught at Cumberland Law in Alabama for almost 38 years before retiring in June 2013. Conveniently, 2013 is also the year when Blackburn first came under investigation for possession of child pornography. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Tennessee (where the case was transferred due to a conflict of interest), in April 2013, computers and other electronic storage devices were seized during a search of Blackburn’s home, and when analyzed, investigators discovered that they were riddled with images of kiddie porn.
Blackburn was charged yesterday and pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography. AL.com has the lurid details on what Blackburn told the authorities upon his arrest:
Joseph Blackburn
According to the plea agreement, Blackburn admitted he possessed child pornography. He told investigators he used the ARES program to download adult pornography on his office computer, and that he may have seen downloads with child pornography but deleted them. “Shown photographs taken from child pornography videos downloaded from his residence, Blackburn stated that he recognized one of the girls pictured,” federal records show.
Blackburn told agents he had never used the search term “child” when searching online for pornography, but said he was not sure if he had ever used the term “young.” He admitted to knowingly possessing child pornography between January and April in 2013.
Administrators at Cumberland Law must be thanking their lucky stars that the good professor was downloading child pornography — even if inadvertently, as Blackburn claims — on his home office computer, rather than his law school office computer.
Blackburn will serve a three-year prison term, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He must also register as a sex offender, and participate in sex offender treatment.
The moral of the story here is pretty obvious: Stay away from child porn on the internet.
Hoover man, former law professor, pleads guilty to child porn possession [AL.com]
Hoover, Alabama Man Charged With Possession Of Child Pornography [U.S. Attorney’s Office – Middle District of Tennessee]
Former law prof pleads guilty to child-porn possession [ABA Journal]