Jul 23, 2008 8:00 pm US/Pacific
Judge Denies Bail Reduction For Accused SF Hacker
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
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Accused computer hacker Terry Childs during a recent appearance with a lawyer in San Francisco Superior Court.
CBS
A judge on Wednesday refused to reduce the $5 million bail of a San Francisco technology expert, who prosecutors alleged rigged the city's computer system to malfunction during routine maintenance.
Terry Childs, 43, of Pittsburg, has been jailed since July 13 on four felony counts of computer tampering, accused of creating secret passwords that gave him exclusive access to the network containing payroll records, police files and other sensitive information.
When pressed to reveal the passwords, he first gave authorities bogus codes, then refused to turn over the correct ones. He eventually turned them over to Mayor Gavin Newsom during an unusual jailhouse visit on Tuesday.
But San Francisco Deputy District Attorney Conrad del Rosario said Wednesday that the city was still experiencing computer problems allegedly caused by Shields' mischief.
The prosecutor told San Francisco Superior Court Judge Lucy McCabe that the San Francisco Sheriff's Department was still "locked out" and other city departments were experiencing problems.
Del Rosario also told the judge that city officials uncovered evidence that Shields placed vital computer programs in temporary files that would be automatically deleted during maintenance.
Del Rosario argued that Childs had intended to "completely devastate the entire network" during a routine power outage planned for the system on July 19.
Childs' attorney Erin Crane called del Rosario's argument "spurious," and told the judge that her client was the subject of a smear campaign by co-workers jealous of Childs' computer savvy and work ethic.
In arguing for reduced bail for her client, Crane said in a motion that Childs was merely trying to protect the network after "co-workers and supervisors had in the past maliciously damaged the system themselves, hindered his ability to maintain it ... and shown complete indifference to maintaining it themselves."
Crane maintained that Childs is a "competent, professional, ethical" city employee who was so adept at his work that other department employees were intimidated and tried to get Childs fired, even going to the length of hiring private investigators to do background checks on him.
Del Rosario said a background check was ordered because Childs allegedly lied on his work application about two prior felony convictions in Kansas for robbery and burglary, for which he served four years in prison. Childs was reportedly 16 years old at the time but was tried as an adult.
Crane contended that Childs' civil rights had been violated, at great financial expense to the city.
"This is an affront to the people of San Francisco, and a miscarriage of justice," Crane said.
Crane also noted that Childs' alleged action with the computer network posed no danger to the public.
She declined to comment outside court other than to say she was disappointed that Childs' bail would remain at $5 million.
"We're obviously very disappointed," Crane said, adding that "the facts (of the case) are very complicated."
She said Childs' incarceration before trial would hinder her preparation of the complex case.
Childs is scheduled to return to court Sept. 24 to set a date for a preliminary hearing on the case.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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