Kid porn password hearing closed in Vt.

BURLINGTON, Vt.—A federal judge on Wednesday closed a hearing on whether a man allegedly caught at the U.S.-Canadian border with child pornography on his computer must turn over his password.

In a case that experts say could have broad implications for computer privacy, a federal magistrate ruled earlier it would be unconstitutional to force Sebastian Boucher of Derry, N.H., to disclose his password. Prosecutors appealed, but U.S. District Judge William Sessions on Wednesday closed the hearing because the case is still being investigated.

"This is a grand jury investigation," Sessions said. "It is extraordinarily private."

Boucher was arrested on Dec. 17, 2006, when U.S. Customs agents say they found child pornography on his laptop computer when he stopped at the Derby Line border checkpoint.

After his arrest, investigators couldn't examine the computer because it was protected by encryption software and they didn't have the password.

At the border crossing, Boucher told agents he downloads pornography from news groups and sometimes inadvertently acquires child pornography, but deletes it when he recognizes it, according to an affidavit filed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Boucher is accused of transporting child pornography in interstate or foreign commerce, which carries up to 20 years in prison. He is free on his own recognizance.

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