Students arrested for changing grades

Ben Godar

Four Providence High School students were arrested Thursday on

suspicion of tampering with school computer records in order to

improve their grade-point averages, police said.

The four boys allegedly used computers in a home or homes as well

as computers at the school to change their grades in a variety of

subjects. Police would not release any further details on how the

grades were changed, but said the alleged crimes occurred within the

last 30 to 40 days.

The names of the students were withheld because they are

juveniles, but police said two of the boys were from Burbank, one was

from Glendale and one was from Chatsworth. All are 17-year-old

juniors at the private school.

Members of the juvenile detail and computer forensic response team

are investigating the case, and police said they seized several

computers from homes in Burbank, Glendale and Chatsworth.

Burbank Police Spokesman Sgt. William Berry said the students used

a new technology to change the grades so they could get into a better

college.

“These people are computer savvy, but they’re not computer

experts,” he said.

The four boys were each charged with illegal tampering of computer

records, police said. They were released to the custody of their

parents.

Providence High School officials could not be reached for comment

Friday.