A 17-year-old Florida high school student and her mother were charged this week for hacking into a local school’s online system in an attempt to change the votes for homecoming queen.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported on Monday that Laura Rose Caroll, 50, and her daughter, both of Pensacola, were charged with one count each of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices, as well as unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and criminal use of personally identifiable information and conspiracy to commit these offenses.
Under Florida law, the first three charges are considered third-degree felonies, and the last charge is a first-degree misdemeanor.
Carroll, who is an assistant principal at Bellview Elementary School, allegedly cast 246 votes for her daughter, a student at Tate High School, crowning her the homecoming queen.
An investigation into the incident started in November 2020 when Escambia County School District contacted police about potential unauthorized access into hundreds of student accounts.
Last October, hundreds of votes for THS’s Homecoming Court voting were flagged as fraudulent, with 117 votes originating from the same IP address within a short period of time.
“Agents uncovered evidence of unauthorized access to FOCUS [student accounts] linked to Carroll’s cell phone as well as computers associated with their residence, with a total of 246 votes cast for the Homecoming Court,” the release read. “Multiple students reported that the daughter described using her mother’s FOCUS account to cast votes.”
Carroll’s account allegedly improperly accessed 372 student accounts within a year and a half.
She was arrested on Monday and booked into the Escambia County Jail with a bond set at $8,500. Carroll was suspended from her job.
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The teenager was expelled from school, taken into custody, and transferred to the Escambia Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
It’s unclear how much time Carroll could serve if convicted.
