The Connecticut police have sent a teen to jail after he was found to have hacked into his school database to change the details of the yearbook by adding quotes from the German tyrant, Adolf Hitler.
Hollister Tryon, 18, who attended Glastonbury High School, was arrested on July 9 and charged with two counts of computer crimes for changing some of the quotes of the graduating students. Investigations at the school revealed that Tyron added a Hitler quote and included references to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber responsible for the death of three people in 2013.
The school authorities reported the incident to the police, and Tyron was arrested after it was discovered that he discussed his plans on Discord, a social media app. The court set the teen in jail's bail at $5,000, but it's unclear if he was able to post the amount or even hire an attorney for his defense.
Condemning Vandalism, Act of Bigotry
The police said that the school administration discovered Tryon's alterations of the yearbook in May 2021. He allegedly tampered with it before it went into publication.
The yearbook was printed in October 2020 and was supposed to be circulated weeks before their graduation. The school authorities admitted that they failed to catch the alterations until some students returned their copies. The school immediately suspended the yearbook's distribution.
Glastonbury High School then sent letters to the parents to apologize for overlooking the vandalism and act of bigotry. The officials said that they would revise the yearbook and review future submissions.
"As a district, we have committed ourselves to examining our school system and our school culture and to dismantling any practices that support inequality, privilege, and racism," part of the letter stated.
The cost of the revision will set the school back for $2,000.
According to the New York Post, the high school barred Tryon from joining the graduation rites and only allowed his mother to pick up his diploma. He is due to be back in court on August 6 and could be locked up for five years if convicted.
Disappointed Parent
Mary LaChance, one of the parents of the students, told reporters that she was disappointed to get a call in May about the Hitler quote in the school yearbook. It was under her son's profile.
The mother said that she cried when she found out, thinking that her son believed in Hitler's bigotry. However, the school authorities assured her that they do not think her son was to blame.
LaChance had a meeting with the school as they conducted their investigations. She said she was not aware why the teen in jail chose to alter her son's yearbook quote but confirmed that they know each other.
Tryon told the police that he chose the students randomly from a targeted list of 50 user access. Authorities did not divulge how Tryon was able to gain access.
He also picked the Hitler quote from a pool of quotes he asked from his Discord followers. The teenager said that he was seeking contributions on the gaming app to use for his own profile.
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