FAYETTEVILLE — A 12-year-old Northampton County student is forbidden to surf the Web while in class after a teacher caught him Wednesday with pornographic images on the screen.

The student's mother, Betty Vaughan, says that a couple of her son's classmates at Conway Middle School tricked him into going to the Web site. She wants to know why the images could be seen at all in school.

"We pay our taxes in Northampton County, and I think that these taxes should be put toward putting a block on these computers to keep these children out of trouble," Vaughan said.

A blocking system is in place, but school leaders say that it failed in this case. They say the filter is being updated, but they believe an open dialogue between parents and teachers is the best way to keep smut off the screen.

School leaders promise to use the latest practical technology to keep offensive Web sites out of the classroom. They are reconsidering their filter choice.

Vaughan says that she has punished her son.