There are certain rituals that high school students hold dear — prom, homecoming, and graduation. Of course, things have changed a bit in the last year. Many kids have had to forego these activities — or attend them virtually.
And that's an important detail to this particular story. Laura Rose Carroll and her daughter, Emily Rose Grover, were caught forging the homecoming queen election results at Emily's school. But what would normally turn into a suspension turned into a true crime, since those results were digitally changed.
This year at Tate High School, students voted by using a digital system put in place by Escambia County School District, where mom Laura works as an assistant principal at an elementary school. Using Laura's credentials, the two managed to hack the system and cause chaos.
Homecoming at the school happened last fall. Authorities at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement noticed something was fishy when they discovered that several student accounts on the network had been hacked. Aside from voting for homecoming queen, the system also showcases student grades and personal information.
According to their findings, hundreds of accounts were accessed without the correct authorization. Being in a position of power, Laura was able to get into the system and help daughter Emily view the personal information of her classmates and friends. She also secured the win for Emily.
Thus Emily expected to win on the night of homecoming when the election results were a surprise for everyone else. It seems like a ridiculous ploy to secure a title that is already somewhat meaningless. While it's a special honor for any young adult, knowing that it was awarded based on fraud and not merit is enough to make anyone cringe.
Both women faced consequences after being found out. Laura Rose Carroll was booked into Escambia County Jail but was released on $8,000 bail. Emily Rose Grover was sent to the Escambia Regional Juvenile Detention Center — a place she likely never thought she'd end up when she received her crown months earlier.
While it may have seemed like an innocent act, the two both have plenty of charges against them. According to NorthEscambia.com, they both face one count each of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices, criminal use of personally identifiable information, unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and conspiracy to commit these offenses. These all fall under felonies or misdemeanors.
The accounts that were hacked were under the school's FOCUS program, and not everyone has access to it. But holding a high position in the school district, Laura was able to enter accounts of kids whom Emily went to high school with. And she reportedly also let Emily have access to this information at other times, as well.
Friends and acquaintances of Emily say that the teen often told them that she was capable of looking at their grades. That type of access holds a lot of power — and that was power that neither Emily nor her mom should have had in the first place. As an assistant principal, Laura reportedly had to take a “Staff Responsible Use of Guidelines for Technology" training regarding the system, and she was up to date — meaning that she has no excuse for her behavior.
So how did they get found out? It was all about the IP address. Over a hundred of the fraudulent votes for Emily came from the same IP address, which is easy to track. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement interviewed the two, and it was obvious that they knew they had been found out.
Emily also didn't do a very good job of hiding the fact that she was accessing her mom's account regularly. Multiple people said that not only did she frequently talk about it, but they've seen her do it. So it was easy to connect the dots when it came to her involvement in the scandal.
"I have known that Emily Grover logs into her moms school account in order to access grades and test scores since freshman year when we became friends," a student statement read, per NorthEscambia.com. "She has looked up [redacted] student ID before to [redacted]. She also knows that if she logs into her moms account at Tate it will ping that Laura Grover signed in at Tate High School. She looks up all of our group of friends grades and makes comments about how she can find out our test scores all of the time."
It also seems as if she's been doing it for years. "When Emily Grover was a sophomore [redacted] class, I recall times that she logged onto her moms focus account and openly shared information, grades, schedules, etc. with others," another student statement read. Another witness who saw Emily access the accounts said, "She did not seem like logging in was a big deal and was very comfortable with doing so."
In total, nine statements from both teachers and students were received that claimed similar stories — that Emily frequently abused a privilege she was never meant to have in the first place. Aside from juvenile detention, she was also expelled from her high school. Her mom has also been suspended from her position in the district.
While Emily and her mom were wrong for changing the votes, Laura was also wrong for ever letting Emily have access to the system. It's upsetting to know that she could easily see the grades of other students in her school. All students should feel as if their personal information is secure and not in the hands of someone so willing to manipulate it.
The runner-up must feel quite strange about how she officially got her crown — but it's a strange and uncomfortable story for anyone who was unknowingly involved with it. This is just a reminder that actions have consequences. Emily Grover's determination to win a crown may have cost her a chance at actual success.
