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Man Faces Five Years in Jail—For Reading Wife's Emails

Should he be punished less for violating the privacy of his wife's correspondence than he would be for violating a stranger's? That seems a little odd to me.

Her betrayal does not excuse his. It is merely unfortunate that hers is no longer a violation of the law.
 
Viktyr Korimir said:
Should he be punished less for violating the privacy of his wife's correspondence than he would be for violating a stranger's? That seems a little odd to me.

Her betrayal does not excuse his. It is merely unfortunate that hers is no longer a violation of the law.
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My complaint with the article is that it did not go in to great detail explaining how he obtained access to her email. If she provided the password to him at any point or simply left herself logged in, I see nothing wrong with what he did. However, if he obtained the password without her consent, I do think that violates her privacy.

I believe he made the right moral decision though once he had the information, by contacting the father of the child who was potentially in danger.
 
theangryamerican said:
My complaint with the article is that it did not go in to great detail explaining how he obtained access to her email. If she provided the password to him at any point or simply left herself logged in, I see nothing wrong with what he did. However, if he obtained the password without her consent, I do think that violates her privacy.

I believe he made the right moral decision though once he had the information, by contacting the father of the child who was potentially in danger.
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he got her password out of a book that was kept next to the computer. I think the legal issue isn't that he accessed her email account, but rather that he forwarded the emails to a 3rd party.

He could have accomplished the same thing by contacting the child's father without forwarding the emails.
 
theangryamerican said:
My complaint with the article is that it did not go in to great detail explaining how he obtained access to her email.
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Would it matter whether he had opened her letters with a letter opener or steamed them open? Or merely removed them from their envelopes after she had already opened them? Her private correspondence is hers, and he had no business rifling through it regardless of the circumstances.

theangryamerican said:
I believe he made the right moral decision though once he had the information, by contacting the father of the child who was potentially in danger.
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Yes, I cannot argue here.
 
Viktyr Korimir said:
Would it matter whether he had opened her letters with a letter opener or steamed them open? Or merely removed them from their envelopes after she had already opened them? Her private correspondence is hers, and he had no business rifling through it regardless of the circumstances.
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had she given him her password, she would have been giving consent for him to access her emails, just as if she had handed him an opened letter.
 
OscarB63 said:
had she given him her password, she would have been giving consent for him to access her emails, just as if she had handed him an opened letter.
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Permission to read one letter is not permission to read all letters.
 
Viktyr Korimir said:
Permission to read one letter is not permission to read all letters.
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none the less. if she gives him the code to access her account, she is giving him consent to do so. expectation of privacy goes out the window.
 
OscarB63 said:
he got her password out of a book that was kept next to the computer. I think the legal issue isn't that he accessed her email account, but rather that he forwarded the emails to a 3rd party.
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Thank you for clearing that up. Sounds like he was in the wrong, without her permission. I suppose I can't pass too much judgement on him though, since I once found myself in a similar situation... I'll wait to see how this one pans out in court.

He could have accomplished the same thing by contacting the child's father without forwarding the emails.
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Probably, but he may have figured the best evidence was to let the cheater's own words hang her. ;)

none the less. if she gives him the code to access her account, she is giving him consent to do so. expectation of privacy goes out the window.
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Agreed.
 
theangryamerican said:
Thank you for clearing that up. Sounds like he was in the wrong, without her permission.
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my wife has the passwords to all her various type accounts stored in a word doc on our computer. She showed me where the file was located. Lacking any expressed restrictions, she has given me consent to access any of those accounts.

If this guy's wife told him where the password was or was aware that he knew the location of the password and made no attempt to move/hide it, she has/had given tacit consent for him to use said password.
 
OscarB63 said:
my wife has the passwords to all her various type accounts stored in a word doc on our computer. She showed me where the file was located. Lacking any expressed restrictions, she has given me consent to access any of those accounts.

If this guy's wife told him where the password was or was aware that he knew the location of the password and made no attempt to move/hide it, she has/had given tacit consent for him to use said password.
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I completely agree, but I think that is yet to be proven in this case, no? He may have just as easily been snooping.

Personally, I keep all my sensitive passwords in a secured file and have told my wife exactly where it is and how to access it. I have no problem with that.
 
theangryamerican said:
I completely agree, but I think that is yet to be proven in this case, no? He may have just as easily been snooping.

Personally, I keep all my sensitive passwords in a secured file and have told my wife exactly where it is and how to access it. I have no problem with that.
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I would think that him having knowledge of where the password was written would be a pretty good indication that she wasn't too concerned about him having access (that or she was, in addition to being a cheating whore, very stupid)
 
OscarB63 said:
I would think that him having knowledge of where the password was written would be a pretty good indication that she wasn't too concerned about him having access (that or she was, in addition to being a cheating whore, very stupid)
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You'd be surprised how many people have their passwords written on something next to their computer.

While I may think that their lax appraoch to security should entitle other people to access their information, I'm not sure if this is a legally defensible position. ;)
 
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