A computer technician was arrested Thursday for creeping on his ex-girlfriend.
Joseph Tarr, 30, of Doylestown, is accused of remotely accessing his ex-girlfriend’s computer without her permission and obtaining 1,500 video and audio clips from the machine between the summer 2011 and March 2014, according to court papers.
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The 30-year-old is charged with three counts of intercepting communications and single counts of unlawful use of a computer, computer trespass, computer theft and stalking. He was arraigned before District Judge Daniel Baranoski and released on unsecured bail.
Tarr, who is employed as a computer technician by the Pennsbury School District, built and serviced his ex-girlfriend’s computer in 2008, which is two years after the couple broke up, police said.
According to court records, Tarr’s ex-girlfriend, who is the mother of his child, noticed on March 17 that there were two usernames on her computer. She investigated further and one said it was “logged in remotely from J01.”
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Tarr denied any knowledge of remote access when his ex-girlfriend called and confronted him, court papers say.
A computer savvy friend was called by the woman and told her how to block further attempts of remote access, police said. They added that the woman saw there were failed remote log in attempts and the woman was close to finding data on the computer when a new user account was created and blocked her access.
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Eventually, the woman unplugged the computer in an attempt to stop the person from getting access to her computer, court papers say.
The woman then confronted Tarr again over the phone and he admitted to accessing her computer furtively and he watched and listened in on her using the system’s built-in webcam and microphone, court papers say.
Police noted in court papers that Tarr denied to his ex-girlfriend in a text conversation to accessing computer from his job in the school district.
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“A forensic examination of [the woman’s] computer showed that it contained two administrator accounts that [the woman] advised did not belong to her and that she was not aware of this prior to March 17,” Detective Andrew Amoroso wrote in an affidavit of probable cause filed against Tarr.
Police said they also discovered a program used to remotely access additional systems on the computer.
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Pennsbury School District spokesperson Ann Langtry said Tarr is still employed by the district. She added that she could not comment further because it is a personnel issue.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
