http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070124/NEWS01/70 1240317 Norwich porn a fluke, expert says By DANIEL AXELROD Norwich Bulletin
NORWICH -- Touting Norwich Public Schools' Internet filtering software, the district's technology administrator said a former substitute teacher's ability to access pornographic Web sites in a classroom was a freak occurrence. At Tuesday's school board meeting, Information Services Director Bob Hartz sought to calm the public furor regarding Julie Amero's Jan. 5 conviction for exposing Kelly Middle School students to sexually graphic Web sites in 2004. Despite the Internet's 4.2 million pornography Web sites, according to familysafemedia.com, Hartz said Norwich's filtering software failed to stop school computer users from accessing inappropriate Web sites just six times since 1998. "It's going to be impossible to block every objectionable Web site out there, but we do a pretty good job," Hartz said. "Since (Norwich switched to a new filtering system) in September of 2005, I haven't heard one report of a person getting to an inappropriate Web site." Hartz said Amero could expose students to Web sites partly because of a technical glitch. Amero faces up to 40 years in prison at her March 2 sentencing for four counts of risk of injury to a minor. >From August to October 2004, the district's filtering system didn't regularly add newly discovered pornographic sites to its restricted Web sites database. Hartz said Norwich's filtering software generally worked in 2004, but new offensive sites weren't blocked partly because Symantec, creator of the school's WebNOT computer filter, failed to send him a licensing certificate to activate the software's updates feature. "I don't think we've ever compromised on being able to fund our firewall ... and (other) filtering software," Norwich Superintendent Pam Aubin said. "We're very lucky to fund a full-time information systems director." Merja Lehtinen of Colchester, a Norwich substitute teacher from 2000 to 2005, defended Amero's innocence Tuesday before the board. Lehtinen claimed students set Amero up and she inadvertently accessed pornography left on a school computer by students. "The school is just as liable as Julie, because it was their computer," Lehtinen said. "The school doesn't want parents to sue, so they hung Julie." Parent Kimberly Shahan, reached by phone Tuesday night, said she doesn't know if Amero is innocent, but the school shouldn't be blamed for filter lapses. "I think Norwich schools do as best they can to monitor these kids when it comes to the Internet," Shahan said. "If a child accidentally misspelled something, then something bad can come up and that's nobody's fault." Reach Daniel Axelrod at 425-4221 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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