COURT HOUSE — Former Cape May County Herald employee Ricarte “Rick” Racela, 29, of Villas was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Raymond A. Batten Fri., Nov. 4 for computer theft charges relating to his hacking of the Herald’s website on Feb. 4, which resulted in the site having to be repopulated with news and advertising.
Racela was fined $2,000 and related costs, including a $500 computer crime fee, 200 hours of community service, three years probation, with one-day credit for time served in March.
Prior to imposition of the sentence, the judge considered the defendant’s convictions of five ordinance violations, and that he had been arrested six times in the past 10 years. He cited aggravating circumstances he weighed under NJSA 2C: 44-1:
• The risk that the defendant will commit another offense.
• The extent of the defendant’s prior criminal record and the seriousness of the offenses of which he has been convicted.
• The need for deterring the defendant and others from violating the law.
As mitigating factors, the judge weighed:
• The defendant has no history of prior delinquency or criminal activity or has led a law-abiding life for a substantial period of time before the commission of the present offense.
• The defendant is particularly likely to respond affirmatively to probationary treatment.
“I acknowledge the consequences of my actions,” Racela told the court as he stood beside his defense attorney John Tumelty. “It was not my intent to do harm,” he added. On Oct. 6, when he entered a guilty plea, Racela told the court he had no recollection of the incident. The statute to which Racela entered his plea was NJSA 2C: 20-25f.
As a condition of probation, Racela must have no contact with the Herald website, nor is he to permit any “surrogate to engage in any prohibited contact” with the website, including posting of any Spout Offs.
Further, he must not to interfere, directly or indirectly, with the Herald’s business operations.
Contact Campbell at (609) 886-8600 Ext 28 or at: al.c@cmcherald.com
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