Porn gets prof probation

STAUNTON — A former Mary Baldwin College psychology professor will spend three years on probation for a one-time Internet search for “nude young girls” that kept him on the Web for about 45 minutes.

Chadwick Carter Blackwell, 41, of Woodstock, entered Alford pleas Tuesday for four counts of possession of child pornography. The pleas acknowledge evidence against a defendant is strong enough to convict but stop short of admitting guilt.

Judge Humes J. Franklin said he would “somewhat reluctantly” accept a plea agreement dropping 30 additional charges. The case was set for a jury trial next week.

In Staunton Circuit Court, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Anne Reed gave an account of Blackwell’s actions Oct. 18 and 19, 2007:

Amid sending e-mails from his office computer, Blackwell searched for “nude young girls” and visited at least three child porn sites in 45 minutes. He did not download files or pay to enter sites, but images were automatically loaded into his computer’s temporary Internet cache folder.

Alarming to prosecutors were four photos from “The Paraguay Series,” which depict girls as young as 9. The photos are well-known to law officers and prosecutors.

After Blackwell sent a final e-mail about a class field trip, he left his browsers open and left.

The next day, Blackwell asked a teaching assistant to find information on his computer before she was to pick up the man’s child from school.

“She saw the Web sites ... that were still open on his computer ... and was stunned,” Reed said.

The student reported Blackwell, who was suspended that month, but not charged until July 2008. He at first claimed his office had been compromised, Reed said.

Blackwell, without tenure, started at Mary Baldwin in 2002, according to the college.

In a tan suit with a striped tie and glasses, Blackwell cautiously conferred with his attorney before entering his Alford pleas Tuesday. He did not make a statement.

Defense attorney John Holloran explained the Alford plea approach by suggesting the batch of 34 charges — and maximum sentence of 170 years — made for a substantial trial risk.

He said Blackwell, as an evolutionary psychologist, had interest in the study of male testosterone and legitimately studied the porn industry.

“There was nothing on the computer that indicated any kind of structure or possession of those images,” Holloran said. “Did he view them? Maybe. Did he possess them? Question mark.”

Study of pornography at the college would have requried pre-approval, Reed said.

“This was a very different case than we normally see here,” Reed said after the hearing, describing it as having lesser severity. “The key concerns ... were making sure this individual was recognized as a convicted felon and convicted sex offender and that he get some help.”

Blackwell cannot teach again. He has been working for a family business, Holloran said.

The defense attorney showed reporters a binder of Blackwell’s pornography-related research and a book he requested that the college purchase. Authorities never searched Blackwell’s home, where they wouldn’t have found child porn, he said.

Asked if Blackwell should have requested college permission to start the research, or at least exercise caution by closing out of the sites, Holloran said his client “does not have an overly careful personality.”

Blackwell made headlines in 2007, when as a juror in an Augusta County baby drowning case, he spoke up while watching an interrogation video to call it “coercion.” The judge declared a mistrial and called Blackwell “pompous and arrogant beyond belief.”