------------------------------ From: Moderators Subject: Len Rose Indicted Date: 29 November, 1990 ******************************************************************** *** CuD #2.14: File 2 of 8: Len Rose Indicted *** ******************************************************************** "Man is Charged in Computer Crime" By Joseph Sjostrom From: Chicago Tribune, 28 November, 1990: Section 2, p. 2 Du Page County prosecutors have indicted a Naperville resident in connection with an investigation into computer tampering. Leonard Rose, 31, of 799 Royal St. George St., Naperville, was charged by the Du Page County grand jury last week with violating the 1988 "computer tampering" law that prohibits unauthorized entry into a computer to copy, delete or damage programs or data contained in it. Rose, who lived in Baltimore until last September or October, is under federal indictment there for allegedly copying and disseminating a valuable computer program owned by AT&T. The Du Page indictment charges him with copying the same program from the computer of a Naperville software firm that employed him for a week in October. His alleged tampering with computers there was noticed by other employees, according to Naperville police. A search warrant was obtained for Rose's apartment last month, and two computers and a quantity of computer data storage discs were confiscated, police said. The Du Page County and federal indictments charge that Rose made unauthorized copies of the AT&T Unix Source Code, a so-called operating system that gives a computer its basic instructions on how to function. The federal indictment says Rose's illegal actions there were commited between May 1988 and January 1990. The Du Page County indictment alleges he tampered with the Naperville firm's computers on Oct. 17. (end article) ************************************* Although we have not yet seen the indictment, we have been told that charges were made under the following provisions of the Illinois Criminal Code: ************************************* From: SMITH-HURD ILLINOIS ANNOTATED STATUTES COPR. (c) WEST 1990 No Claim to Orig. Govt. Works CHAPTER 38. CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE DIVISION I. CRIMINAL CODE OF 1961 TITLE III. SPECIFIC OFFENSES PART C. OFFENSES DIRECTED AGAINST PROPERTY ARTICLE 16D. COMPUTER CRIME 1990 Pocket Part Library References 16D-3. COMPUTER tampering s 16D-3. COMPUTER Tampering. (a) A person commits the offense of COMPUTER tampering when he knowingly and without the authorization of a COMPUTER'S owner, as defined in Section 15-2 of this Code, or in excess of the authority granted to him: (1) Accesses or causes to be accessed a COMPUTER or any part thereof, or a program or data; (2) Accesses or causes to be accessed a COMPUTER or any part thereof, or a program or data, and obtains data or services; (3) Accesses or causes to be accessed a COMPUTER or any part thereof, or a program or data, and damages or destroys the COMPUTER or alters, deletes or removes a COMPUTER program or data; (4) Inserts or attempts to insert a "program" into a COMPUTER or COMPUTER program knowing or having reason to believe that such "program" contains information or commands that will or may damage or destroy that COMPUTER, or any other COMPUTER subsequently accessing or being accessed by that COMPUTER, or that will or may alter, delete or remove a COMPUTER program or data from that COMPUTER, or any other COMPUTER program or data in a COMPUTER subsequently accessing or being accessed by that COMPUTER, or that will or may cause loss to the users of that COMPUTER or the users of a COMPUTER which accesses or which is accessed by such "program". (b) Sentence. (1) A person who commits the offense of COMPUTER tampering as set forth in subsection (a)(1) of this Section shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. (2) A person who commits the offense of COMPUTER tampering as set forth in subsection (a)(2) of this Section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and a Class 4 felony for the second or subsequent offense. (3) A person who commits the offense of COMPUTER tampering as set forth in subsection (a)(3) or subsection (a)(4) of this Section shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony and a Class 3 felony for the second or subsequent offense. (c) Whoever suffers loss by reason of a violation of subsection (a)(4) of this Section may, in a civil action against the violator, obtain appropriate relief. In a civil action under this Section, the court may award to the prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation expenses. (end Ill. Law) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Illinois employs determinate sentencing, which means that the judge is bound by sentencing guidelines established by law for particular kinds of offenses (See Illinois' Univied Code of Corrections, Chapter 38, Sections 1005-8-1, 1006-8-2, 1005-5-3.1, and 1005-3.2). Computer tampering carries either a Class 4 felony sentence, which can include prison time of from one to three years, or a Class A misdemeanor sentence. With determinate sentencing, the judge selects a number between this range (for example, two years), and this is the time to be served. With mandatory good time, a sentence can be reduced by half, and an additional 90 days may be taken off for "meritorious good time." Typical Class 4 felonies include reckless homicide, possession of a controlled substance, or unlawful carrying of a weapon. A Class A misdemeanor, the most serious, carries imprisonment of up to one year. Misdemeanants typically serve their time in jail, rather than prison. Ironically, under Illinois law, it is conceivable that if an offender were sentenced to prison for a year or two as a felon, he could be released sooner than if he were sentenced as a misdemeanant because of differences in calculation of good time. *************************************************************************** >> END OF THIS FILE << ***************************************************************************