PROVO — A Pleasant Grove man suffered a year of unemployment and financial hardship after criminal charges were filed against him after former employers alleged he sought revenge for losing his job by hacking into their computer system.
His legal woes are over for now.
Jonathan Shaw, 34, no longer faces a four-day jury trial next month after prosecutors agreed to drop the charges in Provo's 4th District Court.
Utah County Deputy Attorney Tim Taylor asked 4th District Judge Claudia Laycock to dismiss the charges.
"The case was compromised by new information," Taylor said. He did not elaborate.
Shaw expressed relief as well as frustration.
"We knew this had to happen," he said.
Police alleged that Shaw hacked into the computer system of Creative Internet Concepts on Feb. 4, 2003, two weeks after he was fired. They said Shaw cut the system's Internet link and planted a "Trojan" virus to attack the system at a later date.
Company owner Alma Tuck testified at a preliminary hearing in June that the attack shut down the company for nine days at an estimated cost of $40,000 in lost revenue.
However, Tuck's partners requested last month that the charges be dismissed, Taylor said.
Creative Internet Concepts is no longer in business.
Shaw had pleaded not guilty to two felony and five misdemeanor counts of computer crimes and one misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. The misdemeanors were tied to allegations that Shaw gave five people encrypted passwords to the company system so they could download pirated TV shows and movies.
After the preliminary hearing, Judge Fred Howard ruled there was enough evidence to warrant a trial.
Shaw was under court order not to access the Internet between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. and to use it only for business purposes. The restrictions were in place from February 2003 to Dec. 15, when Howard lifted them.
Shaw's attorney, Phil Danielson, said the restrictions "severely limited (Shaw's) ability to maintain employment."
Shaw tried to find work as a computer consultant but said he mostly helped friends. He isn't sure he wants to continue in that field.
"The market is a little crazy right now," he said. "It's real scary how easy it is for someone to accuse you of something and have no basis for it. All my other friends who work in this business are kind of scared."
E-mail: twalch@desnews.com