Former Florida Probation Officer Faces Over 500 Years in Prison for Leaking Court Database to Drug Traffickers
ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA – A Central Florida woman is facing more than 100 felony charges after authorities say she used her unauthorized access to a restricted court database to repeatedly warn members of a drug trafficking organization that they were under criminal investigation.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as 32-year-old Crystal Lawson, who was hired as a Juvenile Probation Officer with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in February 2022. Her position granted her access to the Comprehensive Case Information System, a secured statewide database used by the judicial community, law enforcement, and state agencies to search court case information.
Access Never Revoked After Firing
Lawson was fired later in 2022 following an arrest on a battery charge, but investigators say her access to the database was never terminated. Between January and May of this year, authorities allege she logged into the system 106 times without authorization, searching for active criminal cases tied to members of a drug trafficking organization that was under active investigation at the time.
Investigators say Lawson used that access to identify co-defendants, locate unserved arrest warrants, and leak details about upcoming arrests directly to people connected to the organization.
Leaks Tied to Lost Evidence and a Fleeing Suspect
According to the sheriff’s office, the leaked information had serious consequences for the ongoing investigation, resulting in lost evidence, unrecovered assets, and at least one suspect fleeing to avoid arrest. Lawson was arrested and booked into jail on 113 felony counts of unauthorized computer access.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison, meaning Lawson faces a potential maximum sentence of more than 500 years if convicted on every charge.
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