In one week, Donilo Colich downloaded between 35 and 70 photographs and videos containing child pornography on a computer in the Manzanita-Mohave Residence Hall, 1010 N. Park Ave. But he wasn't caught by anyone at the UA.
Even though child pornography is against the law, UA officials said they don't have the resources to monitor and catch students who download it on campus.
Officials discovered the child pornography on Colich's computer after someone in Switzerland contacted the UA webmaster, who then contacted police.
Ted Frohling, a network systems analyst for the Center for Computing and Information Technology, said because a lot of downloads look like normal web browsing, it is difficult to find something illegal, such as child porn.
"It is very difficult to monitor or look at content," he said.
According to the Code of Conduct, "users may not provide open access to files/folders on their computers which contain anything that is protected by copyright, that is of a pornographic nature or anything which would be in violation of the university's and/or the Residence Life's community standards."
Melissa Vito, dean of students, said the university does not monitor campus networks to see if students download child pornography. She said that even though a student was found downloading child porn, the university will not begin to monitor the network more.
Vito said the UA does have a policy against downloading pornography, but because child pornography is against the law, the police should be looking for it.
UAPD officials said they do not have the resources to track down people who download child pornography.
UAPD Sgt. Eugene Mejia said in order for the police department to monitor downloads made by students on campus, they would need to monitor computers on a full-time basis ö something UAPD is not able to do.
"We would need more resources and more units," he said.
There haven't been enough cases of illegal downloading to warrant spending the money to acquire the resources, he said.
Mejia said the police rely on reports from community members and CCIT employees in order to catch illegal Internet activity.
"Students and staff who run across that type of activity seem to be doing the job," Mejia said.
If there was evidence that illegal downloads are increasing, Mejia said the UAPD would take action by asking for additional resources to create a monitoring unit.
UA students living on campus are required to sign a contract stating that they will not download illegal or inappropriate material. Mejia said CCIT monitors some of this activity, and inform the police.
Colich pleaded guilty last week to one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor under 15.
The police were informed of Colich's downloads Nov. 12, 2002, when a man from Switzerland notified the UA webmaster, who then reported Colich to police. Police immediately went to Colich's dorm and confiscated his computer. An FBI forensics team was able to gather the necessary evidence to indict Colich on 11 counts.
Although the police were unable to contact the man from Switzerland, Mejia said there are several "Watchdog" groups around the world. These groups are specifically focused on ridding the Internet of child porn. The FBI even has a group of people dedicated to investigating international Internet crimes, he said.
"People do get caught. They do get prosecuted," Mejia said.
Colich was sentenced to 10 years probation last week. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
Vito was unable to comment on whether Colich will face any penalties as a UA student.