Sixth-grader charged in grade switch caper

palm beach post ^ | 2/12/03 | Nirvi Shah

[freepatriot32]

PORT ST. LUCIE -- While other students ate turkey tetrazzini in the cafeteria, a St. Lucie West Middle sixth-grader used the excuse of forgetting his lunch to return to his reading classroom and sat down at his teacher's computer to change five reading assignment grades, St. Lucie County sheriff's deputies said Tuesday.

The 11-year-old student, who faces a 10-day suspension and a principal's recommendation that he be expelled, was arrested Monday on a felony charge of offense against intellectual property.

The boy told reading teacher Susan Seal he left his lunch in her room, according to a sheriff's report. Instead of retrieving his meal, he sat down at her computer, changed the grades of five reading assignments and saved the changes. Math teacher Tanya Schmidt saw the boy at the computer and asked what he was doing.

"He told her that Mrs. Seal sent him to get a floppy disk," according to the report.

When Schmidt talked with Seal, she found out the student was lying. He was sent to the office, where the dean called the school resource deputy.

According to state law, "Whoever willfully, knowingly, and without authorization modifies data... residing or existing internal or external to a computer... for the purpose of devising or executing any scheme or artifice to defraud... is guilty of a felony of the second degree."

"He modified data. I'd say it was a scheme to defraud," said Ellen Mancini, an assistant state attorney in the St. Lucie County juvenile division. "That's what he did."

Despite the boy's age and the rarity of the crime -- Sheriff Ken Mascara said it is the first case he has seen -- Mancini said she would be comfortable prosecuting it

"It's cheating. It's depriving other students of the fairness of the system," she said. "It's as much a fraud as anything else. Sometimes, you have to do things as an example of the authority of both the school system and the legal system."

St. Lucie West Middle teachers use electronic grade books to track grades, determine averages and create biweekly progress reports to send to parents, Principal Helen Roberts said. Teachers have passwords to access their books, but Seal's was open when the student went into her classroom, Roberts said.

"There's also a way to lock it down, and we sent out reminders about how to do that," she said.

The St. Lucie school district lists "the changing, erasing, removing or otherwise manipulating computer data through unauthorized entry" in its code of conduct as among the most serious infractions. It calls for an automatic 10-day suspension and recommendation for expulsion and "may result in... referral to appropriate law enforcement agency."

Neither the student nor his parents could be reached Tuesday.

The student couldn't get into the school district's mainframe and couldn't access grades in his other classes from the teacher's computer, school district spokeswoman Michelle Sjogren said.

The student was booked into the St. Lucie County jail, then released to his father. Mancini said he could face several years in a juvenile detention facility, if convicted.

"Obviously, this is a very serious offense," Sjogren said. "Students need to know it has serious consequences."

Staff writer Will Vash contributed to this story.

nirvi_shah@pbpost.com

[azhenfud]

"I wonder why no one has said anything about the teacher not using a password on their PC."

Probably not educated enough to do so; it's a public school....

[longtermmemmory]

Most lawsuits which challenge grades ARE successful. I read in a legal journal about 70% successful! The only reason these nutcase teachers are freaking out is that the flaws in their system has been exposed. If this kid had executed their plan better there is NOTHING the teacher could have done.

Cheating in public schools and universities (public and private) is a way of academic life. Part of the reason degrees are worth less and less.

If this kid can be taught to use his cleverness for good instead of evil (as this teacher has) he will earn far more than these teachers and put these administrators to shame.

[longtermmemmory]

slow news day?

[TightSqueeze]

What really concerns me about all of these ambiguous laws is this, how do you keep track of everything?

How many felonies sid you commit today? The shear weight and volume of the law guarantees that we are all criminals. Fortunately, once you come to the knowledge that you are in fact an outlaw, all the guilt is erased.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Oh, yes, I know I have broken laws before. None today, but today is a slow day. I will let you pick up the slack for me.

[Rodney King]

good lord. This Mancini woman is a board member of her local ACLU. God help us.

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/jungle/9343/SLAPP/tribaclu2-12-01.html

[Rodney King]

Hah! I got her email address. It's freeping time ladies and gents.

ellen@stlucieco.gov

I got it here:

http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:YWkDfe1QzmUC:www.dbf.state.fl.us/wpb/mancini.html+ellen+mancini%27s+home+page&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

[Rodney King]

check out post 47

[Rodney King]

check out post 47

[Rodney King]

bump for post 47

[ladylib]

This is what I e-mailed:

According to state law, "Whoever willfully, knowingly, and without authorization modifies data... residing or existing internal or external to a computer... for the purpose of devising or executing any scheme or artifice to defraud... is guilty of a felony of the second degree."


"He modified data. I'd say it was a scheme to defraud," said Ellen Mancini, an assistant state attorney in the St. Lucie County juvenile division. "That's what he did."


Despite the boy's age and the rarity of the crime -- Sheriff Ken Mascara said it is the first case he has seen -- Mancini said she would be comfortable prosecuting it


"It's cheating. It's depriving other students of the fairness of the system," she said. "It's as much a fraud as anything else. Sometimes, you have to do things as an example of the authority of both the school system and the legal system."
________
You'd be comfortable prosecuting it? Destroying an 11 year old's life over this? You must think this is really going to make your career, but it makes you and the school look like flaming idiots. I hope the judge throws you and the case out of court.

This is on the same level as the dumb district attorney in my state who charged some guy with having sex with a chicken.

[Dinsdale]

I'm pushing 40. Just the other week I signed my Dad's signature (well enough) just to see if I still could.

It is like riding a bike.

[John123]

I'm pushing 40. Just the other week I signed my Dad's signature (well enough) just to see if I still could.

It is like riding a bike.

Unfortunately, I am still on trainers. :(

[TheJollyRoger]

The sixth-grader is a DemocRAT?..counting votes in FloriDUH?

[freepatriot32]

Bump for post 47 I emailed her a nice little letter just awhile ago and for all the people that were wondering if I got my d in english. Yes that was it lol :-) but in my own defence i had the same enlish teacher in 7th and 8th grade and she was a herion addict that actually use to shoot up IN CLASS until she over dosed in class one day a few years after i got out of that school and was forced into rehab. Of course she is still teaching there.

[A. Pole]

A felony charge? Who are these idiots running the schools and the courts?

We need to be tough on crime! Zero tolerance, man. And think about all those diapers saved when we bring SWAT teams to enforce toilet training.