August 29, 2012
Former Albany State Student Pleads Guilty to Illegally Changing his Grades
On Monday, August 27, 2012, Derrick Davis pled guilty to four counts of Computer Trespass (O.C.G.A. § 16-9-93 (b)) in Dougherty County Superior Court. He was sentenced by Judge Willie Lockette to 24 months probation and ordered to pay a $2000 fine.
In December 2010, while a student at Albany State University and a part-time employee in the Information Technology department, Davis illegally inflated his grades in four classes. Instructors noticed the alterations of Davis’ submitted grades on the online grade system and reported the discrepancies to university administrators. Following an investigation, Davis admitted to discovering a vulnerability in the instructor password routine and exploiting it to change his grades in four classes. He was expelled from Albany State.
Assistant Attorney General Daniel Hiatt prosecuted the case on behalf of the State of Georgia. The case was investigated by Special Agent Marko Jones of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.