GBI: Georgia officer illegally searched database for information about exes
A Georgia police officer was arrested Thursday on charges of invasion of privacy and misuse of agency information, according to the GBI.
Rory Haynes, a 54-year-old Greenville officer, allegedly looked up the names of individuals, such as his ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, on his computer more than 40 times “without a legitimate law enforcement purpose and in violation of departmental policy and Georgia law,” a GBI news release states.
Greenville police requested that the GBI investigate the allegations that Haynes misused the agency’s Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) terminal for personal use.
The GCIC was founded by executive order in 1972 by Gov. Jimmy Carter in order to provide criminal justice agencies with “more complete, accurate and timely information about crime and criminals to combat crime,” according to the GBI website.
Haynes was charged with one count of computer invasion of privacy, one count of unauthorized request or disclosures of criminal history information, and one count of violation of oath of office, according to the release. Additional charges are possible, the GBI said.
He was booked into the Meriwether County Jail.
The investigation is ongoing, the release states. Once it is complete, the case will be passed on to the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.
About the Author
Mary Helene is a reporting intern working with the Crime & Public Safety team and a student at Mercer University. She has previously worked as a reporter for AL.com and currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Cluster, Mercer's student newspaper.
