On Friday, yet another member of the Grand Forks community was indicted on chargers related to child pornography. Eric Basile, a UND professor for the aviation department, was indicted for having images and video of men having sex with young children, many still in infancy. Due to the size of his collection, he was charged with 8 separate counts of possession of child pornography. At this time it is not known if he this incident is related to any of the previous UND employees arrested for similar charges late last year.

Basile is currently 37 years old with no previous arrest history, taught IFR Regulations and Procedures at the University, and was considered to be a well-liked professor earning a 4.8/5 average on Rate My Professor for all ratings before the arrest.

Additionally, the UND professor was placed in jail with a substantial bond requirement, he must raise $100K in order to go free before his trial, the date of which has yet to be determined.

He is currently being held in the Grand Forks County Jail, and could face up to forty years in prison, in addition to $80k in fines.

According to an internal email sent to all UND students, the alleged photos and video were found on a staff given computer, which creates the possibility that the images were downloaded using UND’s internet, and could have been viewed while on UND property in between classes or during office hours. Furthermore, these incidents have become increasingly common within UND faculty, with both a police officer and a UND professor arrested last year for possession of similar illegal substances, and perhaps most disturbing of all in previous incidents campus students were not notified by the University.

This year however, with a new administration, credit must be given for a prompt and immediate response.

UND President Mark Kennedy issued a statement Friday September 9th stating that the University had taken prompt action against the alleged criminal. According to Kennedy “Mr. Basile has been placed on administrative leave. The conditions of his administrative leave include a ban from campus property and a no contact order with UND students, faculty, and staff.” Furthermore, Kennedy offered psychological support to any who may have been affected by the professor via the University Counseling Center.”

As with all criminal cases in progress Basile is to be considered innocent until proven guilty.

David Owen is the news editor for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected]