Former ISU student Jason Lighthall is scheduled to appear Friday in front of a federal judge in Des Moines. Earlier this year, his computer equipment was seized, possibly in connection with a child porn ring bust.

The Story County District Court charged Lighthall with 160 counts of child pornography – 60 felony counts of promoting materials depicting sexual acts with minors, and 100 serious misdemeanor counts of possessing child pornography. After ISU Police arrested Lighthall, they seized his computer and storage discs from his dorm room and his parents’ home in Altoona.

Lighthall is suspected of having more than 7,000 images and three gigabytes of movies depicting child pornography on his computer. According to police, Lighthall used his computer to build up a sordid library of explicit porn and a child porn trafficking center.

The State of Iowa dropped pornography charges against Lighthall so his case could be heard in a federal court. The case falls under federal jurisdiction because Internet distribution crosses state lines.

If convicted in a federal court on charges of receipt and distribution of child pornography, Lighthall could face up to 15 years in jail. Federal law requires 85 percent of that sentence be served.

This sort of crime is both heinous and unacceptable. If a federal court rules Lighthall is guilty, he should be punished harshly, as well as receive appropriate counseling. In the meantime, the case is an example to everyone in the public university community.

Privacy not guaranteed on public server

While Lighthall is not accused of using a university server for the acquisition and distribution of child pornography, because the case involves a university, it prompts a wider discussion of the use of university facilities. Computer files sent over a university server are not private domain. No one can expect propriety over what is transmitted over a campus network, leaving every file sent or received subject to viewing by campus authorities. Iowa State is a public university, spending public tax dollars to provide a variety of facilities for student, faculty and staff use.

The university server is monitored for illegal activity. Anything sent over a university server – illegal or not – is open to both searches and seizures. Just because one is using a personal computer behind closed doors doesn’t mean activity isn’t monitored.