Teens face felony charges of computer break-ins, grade changes at Tesoro High School
One is accused of 69 counts and could face more than 38 years in prison, if convicted. The other is accused of five counts and could face up to three years in prison.
A teenager faces felony charges and could spend decades in prison over allegations that he repeatedly broke into an acclaimed Orange County high school, hacked into computers to change his grades and stole tests -- all in hopes of improving his college admissions prospects, authorities said Tuesday.
Omar Khan, 18, should be graduating with his Tesoro High School classmates today; instead, he is being held in jail in lieu of $50,000 bail. Another student, Tanvir Singh, also 18, faces lesser charges and is expected to turn himself in to authorities this afternoon.
"We're really sad and disappointed that the charges have been filed against these students," said Beverly De Nicola, spokeswoman for the Capistrano Unified School District. "We have been cooperating with law enforcement and we have taken our own serious disciplinary actions based on our own investigation. . . . I haven't seen a situation like this in our school district ever."
It's just the latest flap at Tesoro High School, the wealthy southern Orange County school attended by the children in the reality television series "Real Housewives of Orange County." The school was also in the news in 2005 when two star football players threatened to maim and kill their English teacher in classroom journal entries.
The 2,800-student school in Las Flores, east of Mission Viejo, is academically well regarded and regularly earns a spot on Newsweek's list of best American high schools.
Khan, of Coto de Caza, has been charged with 69 felonies and faces more than 38 years in prison if convicted. Singh, of Ladera Ranch, has been charged with five felony counts and could face three years in prison. Singh will be arraigned today, and Khan will be arraigned Thursday at Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.
The investigation is continuing, and additional charges could be filed or additional students could be involved, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department. He said the crimes were unusual for Orange County, and fairly sophisticated, considering the suspects' ages.
"I think they wish they would have put their talents into studying," Amormino said.
Carol Lavacot, the attorney for Khan, described him as a "really nice kid; he's only 18 years old."
"It's just a very sad situation all the way around. . . . There's a lot more going on than meets the eye at this point, with a lot of kids," she said, declining to comment further.
