MI- Officer facing felony charges

8-26-2008 Michigan:

Allegedly, illegally accessed jail computer

ESCANABA - A former corrections officer at the Delta County Jail has been charged with illegally accessing jail computers and possession of child pornography, according to Delta County District Court records.

William James Johnson, 33, of 127 Michigan Ave., Gladstone, was arrested two weeks ago on three felony counts of unauthorized access to computers and a fourth felony count of possession of child sexually abusive material, according to court records.

The computer incidents occurred from 2004-07 at the Delta County Jail and carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The fourth count (possession of child sexually abusive material) relates to an incident in December 2007 at his home and carries a maximum punishment of four years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Following authorization of a warrant for his arrest, Johnson turned himself in at the Michigan State Police post in Gladstone on Aug. 13. He posted a $500 bond. On Aug. 18, he waived his 14-day right to a preliminary examination. A preliminary hearing has not been scheduled in district court yet, said court officials.

According to State Police Det. Sgt. Greg Cunningham from the Gladstone Post, the illegal use of the jail computers was discovered during an update of the county computer system in December.

It was found that spyware had been installed on the computers, allowing each keystroke to be recorded, he said. Further investigation revealed Johnson had allegedly installed the spyware allowing access to booking information, employee passwords, Internet use, and other information.

Investigators initiated a search warrant to determine if department information was transferred to Johnson's home computer, Cunningham said. It was during this computer forensic examination when officials discovered the child pornography, he explained.

Cunningham said there was no loss of department information and there was no security breached.

-I wonder what their definition of "security breach" is?

Johnson was hired as a corrections officer at the county jail on Oct. 1, 1998. After the initial investigation into the case, he was suspended with pay from his job. Following further investigation revealing child pornography on his home computer, Johnson was fired from his position in January.

The specific charges against Johnson are:

Count 1 - Unauthorized access to computers in the front office computer for dispatch 1.

Count 2 - Unauthorized access to computers in the lower booking computer.

Count 3 - Unauthorized access to computers in the front office computer for dispatch 2.

Count 3 - Possession of child sexually abusive material.

According to court records, the investigation includes more than 100 pages of computer examination materials. ..News Source.. by Jenny Lancour