Former Ocean City AD Acquitted Of Hacking Superintendent's Email

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The former Ocean City High School Athletic Director who was accused of illegally accessing the email account of the school district's superintendent has been acquitted following a three-week trial.

A jury found 54-year-old Christine Lentz, of Upper Township, not guilty on charges of second-degree official misconduct and third-degree criminal computer activity, the Ocean City Gazette reports. The prosecution was trying to prove that Lentz stole Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Taylor’s iPad in an effort to get contract proposals before negotiations.

Lentz was accused of accessing Taylor’s emails without authorization between April 1 and June 1 of last year. During this time, there were ongoing contract negotiations centered around a new contract for the Ocean City Administrators’ Association, according to the Ocean City Sentinel.

Lentz has claimed she was wrongfully terminated by the school district, and that Taylor objected to her sexual orientation. She served as Ocean City Athletic Director for seven years, beginning in 2008. She resigned in the summer of 2015, initially citing health reasons, but later claiming she was forced to resign.

Lentz is a former girls basketball coach at the school, earning 217 wins, the 11th most in Cape-Atlantic League history.

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