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Hearing set in Internet expert's child porn case

November 15, 2012 | Modified: November 15, 2012 at 2:47 pm
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Photo - This photo provided by the Isabella County Sheriff's Department in Mount Pleasant, Mich. shows William Merrill, a Central Michigan University professor specializing in Internet censorship issues, who was arrested on child pornography charges, accused of having offensive material on his university computer. He was arraigned Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2012, and ordered jailed on $500,000 bond. (AP Photo/Isabella County Sheriff's Department)
This photo provided by the Isabella County Sheriff's Department in Mount Pleasant, Mich. shows William Merrill, a Central Michigan University professor specializing in Internet censorship issues, who was arrested on child pornography charges, accused of having offensive material on his university computer. He was arraigned Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2012, and ordered jailed on $500,000 bond. (AP Photo/Isabella County Sheriff's Department)

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — A university researcher specializing in Internet censorship and the use of children in advertising returns to court next week on accusations he had child pornography on his office computer.

A judge in Isabella County on Thursday set a preliminary examination for Tuesday for William Merrill, who resigned as a Central Michigan University professor after being charged.

The 58-year-old is accused of distributing and possessing child pornography and using a computer to commit a crime. He's also charged with possessing a switchblade.

He remains jailed on a $500,000 bond.

Defense attorney Dan O'Neil says Merrill entered a not guilty plea, declining further comment.

The school last week suspended Merrill and barred him from the campus in Mount Pleasant, about 120 miles northwest of Detroit. He quit Monday.

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