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A hacker working for a security firm reported a Middlebury College employee's alleged stash of child pornography while looking into vulnerable computers.
In an affidavit obtained by the Daily Beast, the hacker reportedly discovered a picture of the suspect's driver's license on his computer and decided to turn the man in at the risk of facing their own criminal charges for hacking.
In doing so, the hacker revealed they had broken into the suspect's computer, likely violating the law, but prosecutors eventually offered the hacker immunity for cooperating with the case.
Scott I. Remick, a senior technology specialist for Middlebury College in Vermont, was charged with possessing child porn, according to unsealed court documents obtained by the Daily Beast on Wednesday (July 7).
The security researcher's identity remained anonymous in the court documents and their involvement is "somewhat convoluted," according to the Daily Beast.
The hacker found the explicit images on Remick's computer while hunting for machines vulnerable to a specific kind of flaw -- which is part of their work with a security research group -- by establishing backdoor access to the computer before contacting police and handing off the case.
The researcher said they did so because they feared they wouldn't be able to properly investigate the child pornography if they lost access to the "trove" of files, the Daily Beast reports.
The hacker then submitted a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) notifying the organization they had observed Remick communicating with a young girl identified as "Jeanie" thorugh a Tor network and suspected the college employee of either sharing explicit images or being involved in a relationship with the girl.
“What I saw shook me to my core and I honestly could have never imagined being here in this position,” the researcher said in a note to law enforcement, according to the affidavit obtained by the Daily Beast. “I am not sure how to handle this and I am attempting to do the moral thing here.”
The researcher reportedly reached a deal with officers for immunity in the case to avoid any legal charges themselves.
Remick is reported to have stored the child porn files on his hard drive, according to the affidavit.
A Middlebury College spokesperson declined to specifically address the incident to the Daily Beast, but provided the following quote: "Middlebury complies with and cooperates in all matters involving lawful requests from authorities. In the rare event of an arrest, we ordinarily place the employee on leave and take other appropriate steps while we gather more information.”
Remick is currently listed as being on leave, according to an email for comment to his work address.