Butler philosophy professor charged with child pornography possession

INDIANAPOLIS — A former Butler University philosophy professor has been terminated after he was arrested on child pornography possession charges.

Tiberiu Popa was arrested Friday and charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography.

“We are deeply disturbed by these allegations of such an abhorrent crime,” a Butler spokesperson said in a statement. “Popa is no longer employed at Butler University.”

Butler officials do not believe the inappropriate conduct happened with any minors or students while Popa was on campus, the spokesperson said.

A probable cause affidavit says an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detective received a tip on Friday from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The organization said Adobe Systems Incorporated reported that someone with Popa’s Butler email address had uploaded 24 files of suspected child pornography on Jan. 19.

In an interview with the detective, “Popa eventually admitted to viewing child sexual abuse material on his laptop, but claimed he never saved the images on his laptop computer,” according to the affidavit.

The Butler University Police Department is assisting IMPD, which is leading the investigation.