A longtime professor at Pennsylvania's Bloomsburg University was arrested this week after authorities said they found a collection of child pornography on his office computer.

Scott Lowe

Scott Lowe, 56, was charged Thursday with criminal use of a communication facility and four counts of possessing child pornography, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement.

Four photos were found on Lowe's hard drive after the university had performed a routine audit of university computers, Shapiro said.

One of the photos found appeared to be of a 7- to 10-year-old girl who was not fully clothed, according to the criminal complaint provided by the Attorney General's office.

College officials performed the audit on February 5 after the professor's computer was flagged last month for an "alarming malware associated with his internet usage of the Bloomsburg University network" and contacted university police, according to the complaint.

Bloomsburg University, one of 14 publicly funded schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, referred the case Wednesday to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.

Investigators seized the professor's computer storage and went Lowe's home Thursday night, the complaint says.

"My office has a zero tolerance policy for sexual predators -- no matter who they are," Shapiro said in a statement. "These charges are particularly heinous because the accused is a professor -- someone trusted to work closely with students.

"This professor is charged with viewing child pornography on his computer in his university office. That is outrageous, and he will be held accountable. No one is above the law."

Lowe was sent to Columbia County Prison on $250,000 bail and faces a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled Feb. 28, Shapiro said.

The philosophy professor has taught at the university for decades, and his salary this year was $117,632, bloomutoday.com reports, attributing the information from the Bloomsburg Press-Enterprise.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.