The case against African and African American studies and English professor J. Martin Favor will move to a grand jury after Favor waived his right to a probable cause hearing on Monday. Favor was arrested on Sept. 4 for the alleged possession of child pornography.
Prosecutor Marc Hathaway said that since the defense did not raise the issue of probable cause in this case, the investigation into Favor’s alleged crimes will continue and police officers will gather and examine evidence before the state determines what charges are appropriate. In general, this process is completed within 90 days, Hathaway said.
Five complaints filed by the police on the day of Favor’s arrest allege that Favor knowingly had in his possession videos depicting the graphic sexual abuse of several prepubescent boys and a prepubescent girl.
After a hearing in Claremont District Court on Friday, he was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bail. No plea was entered.
As this case will likely involve federal charges, the sentence will most likely range from 10 to 15 years, David Finkelhor, director of the University of New Hampshire’s crimes against children research center, said.
The amount of content possessed by the perpetrator, any trading or selling of the contraband and whether the perpetrator was involved in the production can affect sentence length, though the biggest factor is prior offenses, he said. Whether the content is in photo or video form makes little difference in sentence lengths.
“Law enforcement has technology that allows it to see people who have downloaded contraband images and videos online, stuff that people think that they’re getting from private individuals or from secret websites,” he said. “Things like that really aren’t that secret.”
Favor’s position as a professor is also particularly notable in this case, as professionals who work with young people are more likely to be targeted by authorities, he said.
“They tend to look for high-profile people because they’re interested in creating publicity about this that will deter people from engaging in this kind of behavior,” Finkelhor said.
The charges are difficult to defend against because authorities have the evidence and confiscate the computers, he said.
“My guess is he will try to plea bargain,” Finkelhor, who is familiar with the case but not directly involved, said. “They’re not going to want to show these videos to a jury or even a judge — they’re pretty appalling.”
The Department of Justice runs roughly 50 task forces across the country dedicated to ending internet crimes against children. One such group was responsible for the investigation that led Favor’s arrest. The task forces include officials from local and state police departments that receive special training and tools for investigating internet crimes, Finkelhor said.
One of the main tools they use is a software that monitors internet trading and trafficking of images and shows the web addresses of people in localities where the investigators are, he said. The technology can create a map of “hundreds or thousands” of people in a state or region who have downloaded such material, and this can lead to authorities obtaining search warrants, he said. Such organizations have existed for around 10 years. This technology was the primary factor that led to Favor’s arrest, he added.
There are many reasons a person may be involved in the possession of such content, Finkelhor said, sometimes as simple as curiosity.
“Simply because someone has viewed this stuff and downloaded it does not necessarily mean that they have sexually abused children, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have a primary sexual attraction to children,” Finkelhor said.
He added that it is important that people know how serious a crime possession of child pornography is, because many perpetrators do not realize the gravity and potential punishments before they explore it.
Favor has been a professor at the College for 22 years and formerly chaired the African and African American studies program. Access to Favor’s faculty page on the College website was denied following his arrest, but was reinstated on Tuesday.
Favor has been placed on paid administrative leave and is banned from campus, College spokesperson Diana Lawrence wrote in an email.
Favor will not be teaching this fall, and the two courses he was scheduled to teach in the English department and African and African American studies program are being taught by visiting professors, Lawrence wrote.
