STORRS -- A former UConn instructor appeared in court Friday, charged with first-degree illegal possession of child pornography.
FOX61 has the exclusive video of Jason Gibson in Rockville Superior Court on Friday where his bond was set at $750,000, and a judge decreed that he could only be released to the home of a family member, he cannot leave the state, and he must not have any contact with any children under 18, including his own, unless he is supervised by a verified third party.
According to a warrant filed with the court, the FBI received a tip that they passed on to Glastonbury police via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip said that Gibson was in possession of child pornography.
According to the warrant, police traced Gibson's activity through the WhatsApp phone application and eventually contacted him directly. Gibson gave them permission to search his phone , and they found thousands of child pornography photos and videos. Gibson admitted to owning the images.. Data from the phone, and Gibson's confession, indicate that he may have viewed or downloaded some of the images while connected to the UConn wireless network.
UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said Gibson was a former instructor and researcher in molecular and cell biology at UConn, but his contract ended earlier this year before the investigation began. Reitz said his contract was not renewed and he has no current UConn affiliation.
Gibson is due in court again on September 21, when he may enter a plea.