Hawaii v. Wong-Fernandez [1]

The state of Hawaii indicted Rhonda Wong-Fernandez, a former clerical assistant, on the charge of unauthorized computer access in the first degree after she allegedly accessed a female patient's medical records and posted on a MySpace page that the patient had HIV. 

The government alleged that Wong-Fernandez illegally accessed the medical records of a patient with whom her sister was feuding. Wong-Fernandez allegedly [2] wrote on a MySpace page "no wonder she's so pale. She's dying of aids. Poor thing, she has HIV. That's why she's hating. . . . I hope she dies." 

On March 31, 2009, Wong-Fernandez pled no contest [3] to the charge of unauthorized computer access in the first degree, apologized [2] in court, and asked for no jail time. Prosecutors asked for one month of imprisonment. The court disagreed with the sentencing recommendations of both parties and instead sentenced [4] Wong-Fernandez to one year in prison, five years probation, and 200 hours of community service. The judge reportedly said [5] during sentencing that "people in this society have to realize that the Internet is not something that can be taken advantage of. You can't use the Internet to do unlawful conduct."