PROVO — Bail was reduced Thursday for a former Utah Valley State College professor charged with 11 counts of sex exploitation of a minor.
Joseph Miraglia, a former behavioral science professor, was arrested on Christmas Day after FBI investigators say they found 11 pornographic images of children on his computer.
Bail was reduced from $50,000 to $10,000 cash or bond by 4th District Court Judge Claudia Laycock.
Utah County Deputy Attorney Dave Sturgill said Miraglia posted bail Dec. 27 and left the state. Prosecutors objected to Thursday's reduction of bail.
"We're always concerned about reducing bail when (the defendant) no longer has ties to the state," Sturgill said.
Miraglia's wife filed for divorce in March.
A complaint that Miraglia possessed child pornography was first made to the FBI office in Salt Lake City on Aug. 9, according to court records.
Miraglia's supervisor at UVSC then told an FBI investigator that Miraglia had told him he accessed pornography on his office computer and that he had "acted out" sexually on campus.
The supervisor also told the investigator that Miraglia had contacted him after he separated from his wife to say that he was in Arizona receiving treatment for sexual addiction.
Miraglia's wife also told FBI investigators that she had found a journal that detailed her husband's physical attraction to boys. The FBI found 11 pornographic images of boys ages 7 to 12 on Miraglia's home computer.
Miraglia, who was hired by the school in 2000, was dismissed from UVSC for unrelated reasons in December.
He was voted Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year by the graduating class of 2003 and was selected as Teacher of the Year for the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences in 2004. He was the assistant chairman of the behavioral science department.
E-mail: jhyde@desnews.com