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06-04-2004 12:40 PM |
Police say teen got porn with jail money
Police say teen got porn with jail money
By Charles Keeshan Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Friday, June 04, 2004
Most McHenry County jail inmates use their commissary accounts to buy chips, candy bars and toothpaste.
David A. Regal used his to purchase pornography, according to an indictment issued Thursday by a county grand jury.
Regal, 18, of Algonquin, is facing a felony charge alleging he illegally tapped into the county jail's commissary fund to obtain subscriptions to at least two adult Web sites.
"It's a perfect example of identity theft," said Dan Sedlock, deputy chief of corrections. "The identity here happened to be the McHenry County Sheriff's office."
Authorities allege the scam began in January when Regal opened a commissary account at the county jail while behind bars on charges he wrote a bad check and filed a false report with Algonquin police.
Jail inmates are allowed to place money in commissary accounts from which they draw on to buy snacks and hygienic needs while behind bars.
Regal's commissary fund had money left in it when he was released from jail earlier this year, Sedlock said, so the sheriff's office cut him a check for the balance.
The indictment issued Thursday claims that Regal used the routing numbers from that check to sign up for adult-oriented Web sites, costing the county about $150.
Sheriff's detectives began investigating Regal after a correctional officer noticed an unusually high debit in the commissary account.
Since discovering the charges, Sedlock said, the jail has taken steps to ensure that such an incident never happens again.
"This is just another example of why the public should be very careful about disposing of financial documents," he said.
Regal, who is free on $30,000 bond, faces a maximum three years in prison if convicted of the charge.
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