Report: State worker viewed porn for years

COLUMBUS (AP) — A state agency is reviewing the way it tracks how employees use the Internet after a report concluded that a worker remained undetected for years as he alternately viewed pornographic Web sites and did work for his church.

Among the warning signs examined in hindsight: a March 2007 report that found Jeff Adkins to be among the top Internet users at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, and Adkins’ request in 2006 that he receive a cubicle with more privacy.

The bureau is not alone. The AP reported in December that a state highway department employee whose job is to prevent discrimination sent racist and sexist e-mails from his government account.

In 2007, the AP reported that highway department employees viewed or downloaded porn and pictures of “pretty girls” several times in state offices and on state-owned computers around Ohio.

Adkins, a full-time state employee whose position was information technology consultant, earned $97,406 annually. He resigned Oct. 30, the day after investigators with the state inspector general confronted him with the allegations. The suburban Columbus resident could not be reached to comment. He has an unpublished number and did not immediately respond to a letter mailed to his home.

Investigation documents reviewed by The Associated Press show that a technology manager at the workers’ comp bureau suggested the agency might have a problem tracking Internet use.

The manager told investigators: “It appeared to him that they did not have enough staff to adequately monitor Internet usage.”

The agency says it has enough employees but acknowledges the tracking process can be time-consuming.

In response to the Adkins’ discovery, the agency may add a report that lists all Internet sites visited, and not just usage of the Internet, said spokeswoman Melissa Vince.

“If someone uses the Internet a lot, it might not be a sign of abuse,” Vince said. “If we have a list of actual sites visited, that could be telling.”

The agency may also look at ways to automate the process of tracking inappropriate Web surfing, she said.

A list of all sites visited could have helped find Adkins earlier, based on details in the state watchdog’s report issued earlier this month and documents reviewed by the AP.

The agency’s data security supervisor first questioned Adkins in March 2007 after a report showed he was among the agency’s top Internet users.

Adkins explained that a Web site he kept open to his personal e-mail account was likely triggering the activity even when he wasn’t checking his e-mail.

The supervisor let the matter rest until more than a year later. On July 27, 2008, he noticed Adkins had accessed a Web site with an inappropriate name, documents show.

The nature of the site caught information technology officials by surprise.