February 14, 2012
In the high profile prosecution by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Dana Thornton is accused of using Facebook to impersonate her ex-boyfriend. As set forth in the Grand Jury Indictment, Ms. Thornton is being charged with the crime of fourth degree identity theft, when it was alleged that she opened an account under the detective’s name and posted a number of postings, which according to the papers submitted by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, were injurious to his personal and professional repudiation as a police detective. Today, Superior Court Judge David Ironson gave both Attorney Sanzone and the prosecutor thirty days to workout a plan as to whether Ms. Thornton would again be permitted to enter the Pretrial Intervention Program.
This case appears to be the first case in New Jersey were the identity fraud statute is being used to prosecute someone in the use of a social media website such as Facebook, under false pretenses. There is dispute among legal commentators as to whether the New Jersey statute as enacted would cover such conduct as alleged by the State. Many States have amended their statutes to cover such conduct, which has not yet occurred in New Jersey. Although Judge Ironson had ruled in this case on a previous occasion that the statute does apply, no appellate decision has made a ruling on this issue.
Today’s full story from the Star-Ledger can be found at: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/belleville_woman_accused_of_cr.html
Law Office of Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr.
Criminal Defense Lawyer, NJ, New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer, NJ Criminal Defense Attorneys, New Jersey Best Criminal Defense Attorneys, NJ Criminal Trial Lawyers, Newark Criminal Lawyers, Elizabeth Criminal Attorneys.
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