Stephen Davis, an assistant professor of archaeology at UCD, appeared in court due to allegations of hacking and the breach of student data.
Davis is originally English but currently resides in Bray, Co.Wicklow. The offences are alleged to have taken place on various dates in 2023, with the accused accessing the students’ data from computers on the UCD Belfield Campus.
On March 20, Davis was arrested and taken to Kilmainham Garda Station. The case involves about 100 students in total, with the accused allegedly harassing 50 of them, who are currently being interviewed by Gardaí.
148 charges are being brought against Mr Davis, including breaches of section 2 and 8 of the Criminal Justice ( Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017. These charges are being brought against the accused following a probe by the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau, which was established in 2023 and investigates the use of malicious software.
It is alleged that Mr Davis committed these offences “Without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, intentionally accessing an information system by infringing a security measure”. Davis faces 51 charges of harassment under Section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against a Person Act and 96 charges of unlawfully accessing an information system.
Davis, who is still employed at UCD, did not comment in court and has not yet entered a plea. The Director of Public Prosecutions has yet to order for the case to be heard at the circuit court, which, if convicted, has stronger sentencing powers.
Detective Noonan informed the judge that Davis had understood the reason for arrest and also told him that Davis had cooperated with the arrest and investigation. He has also surrendered his passport on the advice of solicitor Brendan Maloney.
Detective Noonan stated that Davis had used a piece of software to steal students’ passwords and access their accounts. Some of the more severe charges are in relation to the nature of the material that Davis had stolen.
The judge, Mr Gerard Jones, instructed Davis to sign in to his local Garda Station in Bray twice a week, along with staying away from the library in the town. A cashless bail was set at €100. The accused is due back in court on July 24th.
Sean Hayes – News Reporter