Grove City College, a Christian institution north of Pittsburgh, has suspended a student whom officials found to be working in the gay-pornography industry, reported The Herald, in Sharon, Pa.

The student, John Gechter, told the newspaper that he planned to appeal the one-year suspension, which was a direct result of his work in pornography, a Grove City spokeswoman said today in a statement. Campus officials reportedly discovered Mr. Gechter’s alternate identity, Vincent DeSalvo, when a student browsing the Internet forwarded a few images, via e-mail, to others at the college.

Mr. Gechter “acknowledged that he was employed in the adult entertainment industry and that he knew that violated the student code of conduct,” the college said in its statement. “Throughout this process, his sexual orientation was not a factor in the decision.”

Grove City’s student handbook lays out possible penalties for specific infractions, including a suspension of at least one week for “possessing pornographic material” or “premarital sex (heterosexual or homosexual),” as well as “throwing soap” or “water battles.”

With approval from an administrative council, the college “reserves the right to issue immediate suspension or dismissal … where the safety of life, property, or reputation of the college or its members is at stake,” the handbook says.

Mr. Gechter told The Herald that he had been working in pornography for two years to pay his tuition. “When I first came to Grove City, I was pressed for money, and I worked four jobs trying to make ends meet,” he said. While modeling, he was approached by an agent who introduced him to more-lucrative jobs in pornography, the newspaper reported.

Grove City’s annual fee for tuition, room, board, and a computer and printer this academic year is $18,514. The college does not accept any form of federal student aid, so as not to be subject to laws and regulations tied to federal funds.

Grove City did not confirm Mr. Gechter’s appeal of his suspension, saying that he had since withdrawn from the college. —Sara Lipka