GREENSBURG, Ind. (WTHR) - Police say a former 911 dispatcher broke the public's trust by sharing people's personal information, along with confidential details about crimes, with friends, family and even in a forum online.
In a plea deal Tuesday, Young Sung, 33, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct, in exchange for prosecutors dropping felony charges.
While he was supposed to be helping people, Indiana State Police investigators say former Decatur County dispatcher Young Sung was actually copying sensitive, confidential information.
In the probable cause affidavit, police say he would illegally searching computers to, as he messaged his wife, "snoop through police pics" then send details of crimes to friends, family and co-workers.
Police say he even posted sensitive information about crimes in Greensburg online to Reddit.
"In this case, Mr. Sung took it upon himself to look into files that he had no involvement with," said Indiana State Police Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, from the Versailles Post.
Court documents show that included a high-profile and heartbreaking homicide that took the life of a Greensburg mom.
Prosecutors say Sung asked a friend she "was into gore", then shared a photo from the crime scene that was meant for detectives' eyes only.
But that friend reported him, which led to an arrest.
State Police investigators say at first, Sung told them he didn't remember sharing anything. Then they took a look at his phone and found the evidence: Facebook and iMessages, photos and conversations he'd sent about multiple crimes and investigations.
One message to a friend said "just don't tell anyone I sent you a mugshot".
Another contained a photo and said "look what someone did to this baby".
Then, state police say they discovered more private information Sung took and shared from his second part-time job at Decatur Memorial Hospital.
They say he sent someone an image that contained names, ages and account numbers from a hospital waiting room program.
"With hospital records, it's the same as law enforcement-sensitive," Wheeles said. "People go to the hospital and they expect their information to be kept confidential."
Investigators say people whose information was shared improperly have been notified.
The hospital and the Decatur County Sheriff's office both fired Sung.
He since pleaded guilty and got sentenced Tuesday to one year of home detention.
Family members told Eyewitness News that Sung is hardworking and decent and they were shocked at the allegations.
"Young Sung is a decent guy. He's a good man," said Sung's grandfather-in-law Carmelo Velez.
"It hurts because they're family and we never had any kind of trouble like this," added Emily Velez.
But police say this man chose curiosity over commitment to the public trust.
