| Subject: Police officer faces charges of tampering with computer |
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Date Posted: 12:05:31 11/12/07 Mon
Police officer faces charges of tampering with computer
By JOSEPH B. NADEAU
11/09/2007
WOONSOCKET - A city police officer who once managed the department's evidence room is now facing felony charges of tampering with a computer housed in that area of the police station.
Attorney General Patrick J. Lynch filed the charges in Superior Court Monday against Steven Fairley of Millville, a city police officer appointed in 2004. Those charges follow an investigation into Fairley's alleged access of the department computer on several occasions via a computer at his home, Lynch spokesman Michael Healey said Thursday.
That investigation was conducted jointly by city police detectives and members of the State Police computer crimes unit, Healey said.
Fairley is charged with three counts of illegal computer access and one count of illegal computer access causing damage, Healey said.
The police officer is expected to appear in Superior Court for a pre-arraignment conference before Magistrate William J. McAtee on Dec. 12 and for formal arraignment before McAtee on Jan. 2, Healey said.
The charges follow screening by Lynch for probable cause that included a review of information developed by the State Police computer forensics unit, Healey said. The unit was able to study the computer affected by the alleged attack, and to gather information via subpoena from Fairley's Internet service provider.
"We think the evidence points to probable cause existing for these offenses," Healey said.
The charges allege that Fairley conducted the intrusions after becoming upset that patrolman Ronald Marcos was appointed supervisor of the evidence room, supplanting Fairley. In the process, Fairley tried to discredit Marcos in the performance of his new duties, according to Healey.
The investigation allegedly found that Fairley accessed the Woonsocket Police Department evidence-room computer from his home to change its passwords and block Marcos from using it. Those changes, along with attempts to access the department computer, activated security features which in turn blocked further access to its records and programming, Healey said.
"The changes prevented Officer Marcos and anyone else from signing into the system," Healey said.
As result of the modification, the police department and the City of Woonsocket was forced to spend over $2,500 to repair the damage, he said.
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