Kernell Charged for Entry in Palin’s E-mail

David Kernell was formally charged this morning for opening the Yahoo e-mail and publishing some of Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin on or about the 16th of September 2008. If the 20 year economics student from University of Tennessee Knoxville could face five years in prision and $250,000 fine.

Richard Lambert, Special Agent in Charge of the Knoxville, TN. said in a press release that Kernell turned himself in to authorities today. Lambert also stated that the Department of Justice will have it’s Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section in Washington, D.C. help prosecute Kernell.

U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley released Kernell on the condition he not leave East Tennessee and get on a computer, except for school. David Kernell asked the Magistrate the only logical question going through a 20 year old mind, how will this affect him dating a girl in South Carolina?

The trial date set for Kernell is December 16, 2008 and it hasn’t been announced if Governor Palin will testify.

It will be entertaining to watch this investigation go on this Kernell is not the usual suspect we see in hacking. From what has been released he used no fantastic code or software to gain entry into Palin’s e-mail. The one thing that come from this incident will be that people have been reexamining their use of “free e-mail” accounts. One question I haven’t heard asked iis that if Palin has used a personal e-mail account to conduct Alaska’s business to avoid open records scrutiny, will she do the same if she is elect Vice President?

Update: Here’s a link with the indictment against David Kernell.