Posted on 10/25/2014 3:47:26 PM PDT by Half Vast Conspiracy
A California highway patrolman says that for several years he has participated in a “game” in which he and other police officers shared explicit pictures they had taken from the cell phones of female arrestees.
Sean Harrington, a 35-year-old CHP officer, was initially being investigated for sending five explicit pictures from the cell phone of a 23-year-old woman he had arrested on Aug. 29 for a DUI, the Contra Costa Times reported.
The woman came forward earlier this month and told authorities that during her DUI stop — during which she registered a 0.29 blood-alcohol level — Harrington asked for the password to her cell phone, which she provided.
The woman told authorities that she later discovered that content from her Apple iPhone had been transferred to an unknown phone number while she was in custody. The record of the forwarding was deleted from the phone, but it showed up on her iPad – the two devices were synced. When she did not recognize the number to which the photos had been sent, she researched and found that it belonged to Harrington.
As disturbing as that allegation is, the Contra Costa Times dove deeper and uncovered several new twists.
According to court records obtained by the Times, Harrington said that he had done the same thing to other women “half dozen times in the last several years.”
And worse, other officers had taken part as well.
“Harrington said he first learned of this scheme when he was working in the Los Angeles office,” Contra Costa County district attorney investigator Darryl Holcombe wrote in an affidavit for an Oct. 14 search warrant.
“Harrington said when he was assigned to the Dublin office, he learned from other officers that they would access the cell phones of female arrestees and look for nude photographs of them. Harrington said if photographs were located, the officers would then text the photographs to other sworn members of the office, and, to non-CHP individuals. Harrington described this scheme as a game.”
In the affidavit, Holcombe determined that Harrington should be charged with felony computer theft.
During the course of his investigation, Holcombe reviewed jailhouse surveillance footage to establish the timing of the photo transfer. He found that the woman was in custody when the photos were sent from her phone.
The court records also show that on Aug. 7 Harrington had hacked into the phone of another woman who had been involved in a DUI accident. He forwarded two photos of the woman wearing a bikini, accompanied by the text message sent to fellow CHP officer Robert Hazelwood which read, “Taken from the phone of my 10-15x while she’s in X-rays. Enjoy buddy!!!”
According to the Contra Costa Times, “10-15x” is code for a woman in custody.
“No f—— nudes?” Hazelwood replied.
Harrington sent the same photos to another CHP officer named Dion Simmons. Simmons sent text messages back which read “Nice” and “Hahahaaaa.”
“Just rerun a favor down the road buddy. :)” Harrington replied.
In his affidavit, Holcombe reported that Harrington and Hazelwood had exchanged crude messages when discussing the pictures of the woman who sparked the investigation.
Hazelwood asked to see the woman’s “dl,” which could be a reference to her driver’s license. He also sent a text message to Harrington which read “Nudes are always better with the face.”
CHP commissioner Joe Farrow condemned the officers’ alleged actions.
“The allegations anger and disgust me,” Farrow said, according to the Contra Costa Times. “We expect the highest levels of integrity and moral strength from everyone in the California Highway Patrol, and there is no place in our organization for such behavior.”
“The callousness and depravity with which these officers communicated about my client is dehumanizing, horribly offensive and degrading to all women,” said Rick Madsen, who represents the woman who reported Harrington. “It’s going to lead to another level of mistrust and skepticism to the motive of law enforcement in general.”
Just “trust” them.
I am NOT trying to blame the victim here.
But, have we sunk that far, that big numbers of females naturally have nude photos of themselves on a cell phone??? Really??? Is it that common that cops expect to find such photos??? Do that many girls have boyfriends who expect them to be “sexting” pictures to them????
Ghetto trash has and always will slam cops.
Cops and their buds will always lick the jack-boots.
The only real new twist for me in Ferguson is that a lot of middle-class, would-be cop supporters saw the manufactured fuss and just sort of shrugged.
AND *THIS* TYPE OF THING (and shot dogs and slammed grannies and stolen cash) IS WHY.
“”He also sent a text message to Harrington which read “Nudes are always better with the face.””
How nude were they???
I am expecting big things soon from Google and Microsoft in making “hack-proof” phones. Actually, nothing is unhackable, but it might take hundreds of thousands of dollars of the NSA’s time and computing resources to get those pictures of the family dogs off of your phone soon.
What kind of women have photo’s of themselves naked, seriously there is always a chance their phone is stolen or lost or even hacked
He’s in trooooooooouble!!
Sounds fun
Exactly what I am thinking. Why do so many females have naked pictures on a phone? An obvious thought is that they are sharing with their BF. But they should be worried the pics can fall into the wrong hands.
I’ve even heard of “revenge porn” sites, in which people put up nude photos after a break-up, to get back at the person.
Girls, please don’t send out nude photos of yourself, should be the bottom line message here. You never know where those pics may end up.
Some folks do not understand cyber privacy issues well. Nobody’d waltz around with a Brownie camera containing same. Loosening morals are a problem too, but still. I don’t care if it is a picture of your cat, you have the copyright to it if you took it.
“Harrington asked for the password to her cell phone, which she provided.”
No hacking required.
Does anyone here legitimately expect any better than what this story exposes? I mean look at your average male cop... it’s all about abuse and power of their self-perceived authority.
I suffer no sadness when I hear of Kharma coming back to these adolescents.
Once again, you display your ability to miss the point and combine it with illiterate drivel.
So the question is, will these cops ever see charges? I won’t hold my breath.
A lawsuit might end up doing more good anyhow. And I’d consider using copyright law... that can carry a BIIIIG stick.
I’m getting the impression that practically every woman under 30 these days has a whole album of nude selfies. Those of us over 30, I’m pretty sure it’s just cat pictures and babies, but the younger crowd is just blatant.
These drunk, nude pics gals will be suing and the taxpayers will get reamed. Watch these stupid women collect hundreds of thousands just because a cop(s) saw a nude photo of them. THEY FEEL SO FREAKIN’ VIOLATED....while realty is half or more are crude ho-bags.
I have nothing against the cops being punished but I object to these OJ juries paying out huge settlements in such cases
This was more than seeing them on an investigation, this was passing them around.
If you can get arrested because you took a snapshot of your baby being bathed to the local Walgreens, then surely a misuse of this kind should be punished.
It isn’t just the police. Moral depravity is pervasive in America today. Too many don’t believe in right or wrong. “That’s just your opinion, man!”
They don’t fear God, and they think morality is something we make up. If a majority votes for something, then that must be morally right, right?
One can preach sacrifice, service, and integrity as much as one wants, but without God, it’s meaningless. If people won’t self regulate based on a belief in sin and the Lord, the only recourse is much, much stricter laws and government control, and that’s a fool’s errand in itself as government itself is made up of those same immoral citizens.
We need the Lord!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.