Haddonfield High hackers get probation

A routine court hearing for three Haddonfield High School students accused of hacking into the school district's computer system turned contentious Thursday as lawyers bickered about money and hard drives.

Superior Court Judge Angelo DiCamillo accepted the plea agreements of the boys - ages 14, 15, and 16 - and placed each on probation with a variety of restrictions, including adhering to a 10 p.m. curfew, writing essays about making better choices, and spending no unsupervised computer time.

In March, a school employee caught the 15-year-old using keystroke-recording software to obtain passwords to the wireless network.

Authorities allege the 16-year-old used the software to obtain passwords and changed the grades of some students. The 14-year-old, they said, used passwords to look at confidential information, but did not alter files.

The names of the teens have not been released because they are juveniles.

While on probation, the youths are not permitted to use the social networks Facebook and MySpace. Twitter, said DiCamillo, is OK.

The psychological evaluations of two boys had been completed, but the deeply tanned 15-year-old had not complied, claiming a conflict with his family's vacation schedule, said Camden County Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Moran.

Family members said they were only available on Saturday. The judge suggested they postpone their beach trip a few days if needed.

The sparring began over issues of restitution and forfeiture.

Lawyers could not agree who should pay the $10,502.85 in salary for school district employees who spent hours dealing with problems created by the hacking.

"Judge, I don't believe that was money expended by the school district," said Haddon Heights attorney Matthew V. Portella, who represents the 16-year-old.

Dealing with disciplinary and computer issues is what salaried school employees are paid to do, said Haddonfield attorney Salvatore J. Siciliano, who represents the 14-year-old.

The 15-year-old's attorney, Robert G. Harbeson of Haddonfield, also opposed the amount the school district requested.

Portella and Siciliano argued that the Prosecutor's Office had no right to keep all of the electronic equipment seized from the teens, including a calculator, a cell phone, and blank computer disks.

"They can't keep evidence not related to the offense," Portella said. His client wants to retrieve personal information, including photos and memoirs, he said.

Portella said he had a deal with prosecutors to allow authorities to keep seven of 20 confiscated items, but it had been derailed by the restitution demand.

"We understand he should not have done what he did," the 14-year-old's mother said after the hearing. She declined to give her name.

During the hearing, she said that she and her husband had voluntarily brought their son's laptop computer to authorities to prove he was not deeply involved. Authorities, she said, promised to return it after retrieving the needed information.

Moran argued authorities would have to "scrub" the hard drive before it could be released.

Prolonged litigation involving paid experts in the field of restitution and forfeiture could cost thousands of dollars, DiCamillo noted. Surely the sides could come to an agreement, said the judge, who snapped at the lawyers as they quoted rules of evidence.

After the lawyers battled for more than an hour, DiCamillo said he would address the matter on Sept. 13 if the sides could not reach a compromise.