KNOXVILLE, Tenn (WVLT) -- A University of Tennessee student charged with hacking into Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's e-mail will be released without bond pending trial on December 16th.
That decision during an initial appearance by David C. Kernell, 20, this morning in front of U.S. Magistrate C. Clifford Shirley.
Shirley ruled Kernell can not have contact with Governor Palin or her family, he cannot have contact with any witnesses in the case, he cannot use his computer for anything other than e-mail and class assignments, and he must have written permission from the court to leave the district.
Kernell, 20, was indicted by a federal grand jury in
Knoxville, Tennessee on October 7th, but the indictment was not unsealed until this morning.
Federal prosecutors allege Kernell intentionally accessed without authorization Palin's e-mail account.
Kernell, the son of Tennessee State Representative Mike Kernell (D-Memphis), turned himself into federal authorities for arrest.
Kernell will appear in front of Federal Magistrate C. Clifford Shirley, Jr., at 10:00 a.m. for an initial appearance, according to a spokesperson in the U.S. Attorney's office.
The single count indictment alleges that on approximately September 16, 2008, Kernell obtained unauthorized access to Governor Sarah Palin’s personal e-mail account by allegedly resetting the account password.
According to the indictment, after answering a series of security questions that allowed him to reset the password and gain
access to the e-mail account, Kernell allegedly read the contents of the account and made screenshots of the e-mail directory, e-mail content and other personal information.
According to the indictment, Kernell posted screenshots of the e-mails and other personal information to a public website. Kernell also allegedly posted the new e-mail account password, thus providing access to the account by others.
"Cyber crime is the FBI's top criminal investigative priority. We would like to thank all of the internet service providers and others who partnered with us to bring this matter to a quick and successful
resolution." said Richard Lambert, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Knoxville Field Division.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Anchorage and Knoxville Field Offices.
A Volunteer TV News crew will be in court for Kernell's appearance.
Stay connected to Volunteer TV News and VolunteeerTV.com for continued coverage of this developing news story.
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