Yale fires professor accused of child porn

A Yale University professor has been fired for downloading child pornography and making two pornographic videotapes of a boy.

University President Richard C Levin said that geology professor Antonio Lasaga was stripped of his tenure and fired on February 20.

Lasaga, 51, pleaded guilty last year to downloading 200,000 child pornography images and making the video. He faces 20 years in prison, three years of probation and 500,000 dollars (£360,000) in fines if all the charges stand.

Levin said he acted on a recommendation from the University Tribunal Panel, a faculty group established in 1969 to consider misconduct cases. It is the first time the panel has recommended that a professor be stripped of tenure and fired.

Lasaga, who has been on leave since 1998, plans to appeal against the decision to the Yale Corporation, the university's governing board, Levin said.

Action against Lasaga will not take effect until the board completes its review. Lasaga's lawyer, William Dow III, declined to comment on the firing.