FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
June 13, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FORMER MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE OFFICER SENTENCED FOR ILLEGALLY ACCESSING A GOVERNMENT COMPUTER
Used Her Police Powers to Inappropriately Access Law Enforcement Databases
More than 20 Times
Greenbelt, Maryland - Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced former Montgomery County Police officer Delores Culmer, age 38, of Silver Spring, Maryland today to five months in home detention with electronic monitoring, followed by two years of supervised release, for obtaining unauthorized information from protected government computers for her personal financial gain or commercial advantage.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; and Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Sparkman of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office. The investigation in this case was initiated by the Montgomery County Police Department.
According to Culmer’s guilty plea, on at least 20 occasions from August 2008 to April 2010, Culmer, then a Montgomery County Police officer, used her police powers to access law enforcement databases to obtain unauthorized information. For example Culmer inappropriately accessed the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, as well as the Maryland Inter-agency Law Enforcement System (MILES) database, to conduct wanted persons checks on her boyfriend, a person with whom her sister was having a dispute, and a friend of Culmer’s boyfriend. Culmer also performed unauthorized registered motor vehicle checks on Culmer’s boyfriend’s brother and a person with whom Culmer’s boyfriend was having a dispute.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Montgomery County Police Department, ICE - Homeland Security Investigations and IRS - Criminal Investigation for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Su, who prosecuted the case.