Ex-Commissioner Reappeared in Court for Invading Privacy

Bruce Barclay, aged 50, the former commissioner of Cumberland County reappeared before the court on December 4, 2009 with Matthew Gover, who is his Defense Attorney. He was seen again in court after the failure of preliminary hearing, in February 2009, to dismiss the charges against him.

He is accused of surreptitiously recording video of men having sex at his residence. Also, he is charged of installing spyware on a laptop he gave to a man named David Taylor. He gave this laptop to Taylor with the aim of monitoring his computer activities, such as instant messaging chats, Internet browsing, and e-mails.

Gover has lodged pretrial motions asking C. Joseph Rehkamp, senior judge, to dismiss the unlawful use of a computer charges and felony wiretapping against his client Barclay. According to his claims, Barclay cannot be accused of illicitly accessing a computer that he owned, as reported by pennlive.com in the first week of December 2009.

Gover firmly believes that their case is strong and that the final judgment will turn out in their favor. He also believes that it would take long time to arrive at conclusion, as reported by whtm.com in the first week of December 2009.

However, Jonelle Eshbach, a prosecutor for the state attorney general's office, opposes by saying that the accused certainly intruded Taylor's privacy, as reported by whtm.com.

Meanwhile, the Vice President of the software company 'SpectorSoft' which created the spyware, Ronald Chesley, said that while purchasing the software, Barclay would have checked a licensing agreement. This agreement warned him that he had to inform people using the computer of the spyware, reported whtm.com.

After hearing arguments from both the parties on December 4, 2009, the judge reserved his decision.

As of now, Barclay is free on bail of $25,000. He is scheduled for a trial in March 2010 on 17 counts. Barclay is also accused of promoting prostitution for allegedly hiring male escorts. This charge is one among the aforementioned 17 counts. The charges account for a possible combined penalty worth $113,500 and imprisonment of up to 48 years.

Related article: Ex-husband Charged For Spying On Tycoon Wife’s PC

» SPAMfighter News - 12/16/2009