Second Newport Student Accused of Hacking Into School Computer
A second Corona del Mar High School student was taken into custody Wednesday on suspicion of hacking into a school computer to change grades, Newport Beach police said.
Detectives escorted a senior, whom police would not identify because of his age, from the campus and, after questioning, released him to his parents, Sgt. Steve Shulman said.
Students paid several hundred dollars for the grade changes, Shulman said. The amount “depended on how significant of a grade change the students wanted and how quickly they wanted it done,” he said. Police believe grades for at least 12 students had been altered.
School officials alerted police this month after noticing several “flags” that indicate a grade change in the electronic records of seven students.
As with the classmate detained last week, the student will be suspended for five days and then transferred to another district high school until the investigation ends.
Illegally accessing the school’s computer is punishable by up to three years in prison.
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