Criminal Justice Technology in the News

Law Enforcement News

Illinois to Get Tougher on Texting and Driving
NPR Illinois, (06/27/2019), Sean Crawford
Starting July 1, 2019, texting while driving in Illinois will carry a $75 fine. Previously, a first offense only carried a warning.
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Greenwich Police and Human Services Team Up to Reduce Opioid Overdoses
Greenwich Sentinel, (06/26/2019), Richard Kaufman
Police in Greenwich, Conn., are working with the city's Department of Human Services to reach out to residents known to be struggling with drug addiction. The program's intent is to steer people toward treatment programs rather than the criminal justice system. The contact team includes two detectives and a social worker, who coordinate a meeting time with each person in a non-confrontational setting to explain options for addiction treatment.
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New K9 at CCSO Will Play Vital Role in Internet Crime Investigations
MTN News, (06/27/2019)
The Cascade County Sheriff's Office in Montana will be using a K9 to help in electronic crime investigations. During searches, the dog can sniff out hidden electronic devices such as SD cards and laptops. A chemical found in SD cards and laptops produces an odor that the dog is trained to detect.
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Body Cameras Approved for Berlin Police Officers
The Dispatch, (06/27/2019), Charlene Sharpe
The Berlin (Md.) Town Council has approved the policy that provides guidelines on the police department's use of body cameras. The department has been using body cameras under a pilot program. The policy provides guidelines for the use, management, storage and review of media recorded by the cameras.
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Florida's Strengthened No Texting While Driving Law Is Now in Effect
WJCT, (07/01/2019), Bill Bortzfield
As of July 1, police can pull drivers over in Florida if they spot someone texting behind the wheel. A first-time offense carries a $30 fine. Previously, texting while driving was only enforced as a secondary offense; drivers were only cited if they were stopped for other infractions.
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Corrections News

Volusia Jail's Tattoo Database Provides Agencies More Tools to ID
The Dayton Beach News-Journal, (06/27/2019), Tony Holt
The Volusia County Branch Jail has implemented a tattoo database, which contains thousands of images of ink signatures from inmates. The log of photos is helpful to law enforcement officers in the field because it is another tool they can use to identify a dangerous suspect, authorities said.
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Portland Man Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking and Anonymous Telephone Harassment

PORTLAND, Ore.—On June 24, 2019, Bob Ibenne Ugwa, 50, of Portland, pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and anonymous telecommunications harassment after making repeated threatening and harassing telephone calls to seven individuals over an eight-year period.

According to court documents, between 2011 and 2018, Ugwa made thousands of anonymous, interstate telephone calls from Oregon to seven victims in Pennsylvania. In these calls, Ugwa threatened or harassed each victim by breathing heavily, moaning, and saying sexually explicit things. Telephone records were used to confirm Ugwa’s threatening calls. Each of the victims made multiple unsuccessful attempts to stop Ugwa from calling, citing substantial emotional distress.

Ugwa faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced on September 10, 2019 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael W. Mosman.

This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Hannah Horsley, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking

           WASHINGTON - Andrew T. Maliska, 27, of Nashville, Tennessee, pled guilty on Monday, June 17 to cyberstalking in the District of Columbia following an investigation into the creation and circulation of doctored images, related postings, and the personal information of the victim.

           The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and John P. Selleck, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

           Maliska was indicted by a grand jury on one count of cyberstalking and indicted on two counts of identity theft. The indictment was unsealed on May 24, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

           According to the government’s evidence, Maliska resided in the District of Columbia from September 2009 until June 2013, where he studied at a local university and met the victim. The indictment alleges that during the course of his friendship with the victim, Maliska without authorization, accessed and obtained non-sexual images from the victim’s social media accounts. According to the indictment, Maliska then doctored those images to sexualize them and posted them on various online forums.

           The indictment alleges that Maliska also posted the victim’s name, phone number, and address on an escort website in May of 2015. This posting resulted in the victim receiving multiple inquiries from individuals seeking escort services from her. The indictment further alleges that the nature of the other postings were pornographic, racist, and defamatory.

           The victim and her family filed a civil suit against Maliska in October of 2015. The following year, the victim and her family obtained a civil settlement in which Maliska acknowledged the postings and content were authored by him, stated he would remove the content, and agreed that he would refrain from engaging in further defamatory postings of the victim.

           As alleged in the indictment, in August 2017, after Maliska entered into the civil settlement, he continued to commission sexual images of the victim, posted about the victim, and reactivated a fake social media account in her name. The indictment alleges that Maliska used the victim’s name, biographical information, and images to create the fake social media account. Maliska used the fake social media account to befriend and communicate with others online.

           The charge of cyberstalking carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and potential financial penalties.

           This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Youli Lee and Charles Willoughby, paralegal Diane Brashears, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sumit Mallick, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron Jones of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Tennessee and Bianca Evans, formerly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.