A Bowling Green State University professor and assistant dean has been immediately suspended after erotic material, some involving children, was found on his university computer.
In a statement issued this afternoon, BGSU said it has suspended Alan Atalah “effective immediately” for misuse of state property and violation of university policy.
According to the report from the Ohio Office of the Inspector General, Atalah, of the College of Technology, came to its attention in March, 2015, after erotic stories, including some involving children, was discovered on a USB drive sent to the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The flash drive contained information on culvert boring process research that Atalah was conducting. ODOT was not satisfied with the work and asked to have all material related to it returned.
Personnel at the ODOT State Office of Planning and Research discovered the document when reviewing the material on the disk. ODOT referred the matter to the Inspector General’s office.
The inspector general interviewed Atalah, who admitted to sometime looking at and copying erotic stories. He said he did not know how the file got onto the flash drive sent to ODOT and denied being the author of the document. Evidence of such material was found both on his laptop and on his work computer, in violation of BGSU’s internet use policy.
In a follow up letter to the investigators, Atalah said when he finally read the document he was “sick to his stomach” because of the nature of the material, and concluded by stating that he would do whatever he could “to assure you that I am not the kind of person who would do anything awful like that.”
The inspector general showed the material to an assistant United States Attorney and the Federal Bureau of Investigation supervisor assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The federal authorities determined the material did not warrant criminal charges. It was also provided to the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office for consideration.
County Prosecutor Paul Dobson said his office has not received the file yet. He will review it when it arrives. State law, he said, is significantly different from federal law.
The inspector general made two recommendations to the university and asked for a report from the provost within 60 day on what action BGSU has taken.
The inspector general asks the provost to consider whether administrative action against Atalah is warranted and to review the university’s internet usage policy to make it similar to the policy of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services for State of Ohio Government Agencies
BGSU’s statement said: “Atalah’s status with the university will be further evaluated following review of the Ohio Inspector General’s findings and the outcome of the university’s own investigation.”
It continued: “The university appreciates the work done by the Inspector General and his staff on this matter. BGSU has worked closely with the Inspector General’s Office in support of its investigation over the last 18 months. BGSU received the report on the investigative findings today and is in the process of reviewing them.
“Since the matter remains the subject of an ongoing investigation, the university will have no further comment.”
