Teacher exposed pupils to online pornography

Published on Sunday 4 March 2007 02:55

AN AMERICAN substitute teacher who claims to have little knowledge of computers and even less about pornography is in the middle of a criminal case that could put her behind bars for up to 40 years.

Julie Amero, from Norwich, Connecticut, faces jail when sentenced later this month after being convicted of exposing a class of 11 and 12-year-olds to pornography on her classroom computer. She claims the images were inadvertently thrust onto the screen by pornographers' unseen spyware and adware (unwanted adverts) programs.

Prosecutors dispute that, but her argument has made her a cause celebre among some technology experts, who say what happened to her could happen to anyone.

Armero claims that in October 2004 she had e-mailed her husband from the computer and then left the classroom. When she returned two students were using the computer to view a website on hair styles. Later pornographic images started popping up on the computer screen by themselves. Armero tried to click the images off, but they kept returning.

"I did everything I possibly could to keep them from seeing anything," she said.

Computer consultant Herb Horner testified for the defence that the children had gone to an innocent website on hair styles and were redirected to another site that had pornographic links. "It can happen to anybody," he said.

US trade watchdogs have been cracking down on companies accused of spreading malicious spyware. And pop-up blockers that can prevent so-called porn storms are now in wide use.