July 21, 2006 | Sex & Society

Anti-porn mayor busted online

Like any good conservative, Dan Phelps says he hates pornography. Like any good politician, however, the former mayor of Clearfield, Utah, is prone to fibbing. The truth? Like most men, Phelps has an attraction to porn -- one he can't resist. 

According to YNOT.com, Phelps resigned from his post as mayor in February, just a few weeks into his inaugural term. He cited "personal reasons," according to local newspaper The Standard Examiner, which later acted on an anonymous tip and found that those "personal reasons" were in fact tied to Phelps' use of a city-owned laptop computer to browse pornography online.

The city of Clearfield analyzed more than 8,000 files downloaded to Phelps' laptop between Jan. 18 and Feb. 11, "many of which included images and videos from pornographic websites," The Standard Examiner reports.

Exposed, Phelps granted an interview to the Standard Examiner, during which he called  pornography addictive. "It's terrible," he said, "it’s a plague, it’s worse than a drug habit, worse than an alcohol habit. No one is immune to it."

Phelps, who also resigned his position as a teacher at the local Mormon church, added that he spent only two hours online in a period of three days. He claims that his "indiscretions" were provoked by a pop-up ad that appeared on his screen without warning due to a malfunction in the city's Internet filters; IT experts, however, found no evidence on the computer of viruses or spyware that would cause such a pop-up.

Phelps claims that he brought his indiscretions to the attention of other city officials voluntarily. But despite his remorse he was advised to tender his resignation.

The ex-mayor also said he was unaware of the city’s policy regarding inappropriate use of city computers.

“Two hours on the Internet has cost me my job, my calling, and serving as mayor in a community I love,” Phelps said. “I had everything going for me. It’s amazing what two hours of choices can do to you.”

Now Mr. Phelps will have lots of time to surf for porn -- from the safety of his own home.

• Anti-porn mayor resigned over porn surfing [YNOT Masters]