California Prosecutors Charge Woman Who Allegedly Used Illegal Spyware to Wiretap a Police Officer's Phone

The U.S. District Court in San Jose, California charged a woman Friday for allegedly wiretapping a police officer's phone and for possession of illegal spyware.

Kristin Nyunt (Image source: San Francisco Chronicle)

Federal prosecutors say Kristin Nyunt installed the spyware on the mobile phone of at least one police officer. Prosecutors said they also charged Nyunt with possession of interception devices, including brands such as Mobistealth, StealthGenie and mSpy, San Jose Mercury News reported.

The officer whose phone prosecutors say Nyunt allegedly tapped is her now ex-husband John Nyunt, a former Pacific Grove, California police commander.

John Nyunt, who is now retired, has agreed to serve a two-year sentence in federal prison for directing a possible crime victim toward his private investigative firm, accepting $10,000 and then pretending to look into her case. John also admitted to providing Kristin access to commercial law enforcement database without authorization.

Court documents indicate Kristin will plead guilty, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.

The case represents an ironic twist as government agencies and police departments across the country have faced increased scrutiny over their controversial surveillance practices. Last year's bombshell report that the National Security Agency had accessed millions of private phone records set off a flurry of reports citing instances where local law enforcement agencies have used similar practices.

(AP/Patrick Semansky, File)

TheBlaze published an article earlier today reporting that police departments in five cities in Virginia participated in a network in they collected, stored and shared private data information, an investigation by the nonprofit watchdog group Center for Investigative Reporting found.

The San Jose U.S. District Attorney's office did not return a comment to TheBlaze by the time this story was published.

(H/T: San Jose Mercury News)