A Florida teen allegedly involved in a plot with her mother to rig a high school homecoming election will be tried as an adult, according to NBC Miami.
The State Attorney's Office in Escambia County confirmed Tuesday (May 4) that Emily Rose Grover will be tried as an adult following her birthday last month. Grover was 17 when authorities arrested her in March. She is now 18 years old, reporters said.
Grover and her mother, 50-year-old Laura Rose Carroll, face multiple felony charges after they allegedly hacked student accounts to alter the results of a homecoming vote at Tate High School (THS) in Pensacola. Investigators said Caroll, an assistant principal at Bellview Elementary school in the same county, accessed the school district's internal system to cast hundreds of fraudulent votes.
THS students also told detectives that Grover talked about using her mother's system access or watching Caroll access records for years. Investigators also tied the unauthorized access back to Caroll's cellphone and computers at her home.
Since their arrests, officials said Carroll was suspended from her job, but there's no word on if she's been fired. Authorities said Grover was expelled from THS.
The mother and daughter were charged with offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices; unlawful use of a two-way communications device; criminal use of personally identifiable information and conspiracy to commit those offenses.
"Carroll remains free on a $6,000 bond, and Grover is free on $2,000 bond," reporters wrote. "Prosecutors said the mother and daughter each face a maximum 16-year sentence."
Photo: Getty Images, Escambia County Sheriff's Office