FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A Fresno cell phone technician is accused of accessing and sharing a teenage customer’s private videos while repairing her phone, according to a lawsuit filed in Fresno County Superior Court.<\/p>\n
The 30-page complaint alleges that Desmond Devon Fitzgerald accessed the then-17-year-old girl’s iPhone 11 after she brought it to a CellPros location in southeast Fresno for a battery replacement.<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit, the teen later discovered that two messages had been sent from her phone.<\/p>\n
“She responds to those text messages with what is going on. And the response she got, don’t text this number. I don’t know who you are,” attorney Benjamin Drake said.<\/p>\n
Drake, who represents the girl and her family, said they are concerned not only about the private videos that were allegedly shared, but also about other personal information that may have been exposed.<\/p>\n
“There’s no delete button here. It’s not like she can just go and say, okay, delete it and the person or the persons that have it, they could delete it,” Drake said.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit seeks damages from Fitzgerald and CellPros, alleging causes of action that include negligence and fraud.<\/p>\n
Drake told Action News that the girl’s father confronted Fitzgerald, who admitted to sending and uploading the pictures.<\/p>\n
Community members expressed concern over the allegations.<\/p>\n
“You go to a business you’re expecting the business to respect, especially for minors and children, you’re supposed to make sure they’re safe and as a parent I want to make sure all children are safe,” said Unique Mitchell, a Lemoore resident.<\/p>\n
In addition to the civil lawsuit, Fitzgerald is facing an active criminal case. He was among 14 people arrested during Operation Boogeyman, a 2023 child predator sting in which law enforcement targeted adults they said were seeking to exploit children for sex.<\/p>\n
“We just don’t understand how the defendants in this case did not and allowed him to work at the store and have access to people’s phones and pictures and private information,” Drake said.<\/p>\n
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging customers to take precautions when handing over their phones for service.<\/p>\n
“You can very easily swipe and see what applications are open,” Sgt. Scott Schwamb of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said.<\/p>\n
“It’s always good if you hand your phone over to somebody to see if they just go into your phone app or were they going into your Snapchat,” Schwamb added.<\/p>\n
Cellpros said in a statement to Action News:<\/p>\n
“Cellpros LLC maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy for any compromise of customer privacy or trust. The alleged rogue actions of former employee Desmond Fitzgerald represent a total betrayal of our company’s core values, operational guidelines, and the Fresno community we proudly serve. Prior to this occurrence, Cellpros has had no history of customer data privacy complaints or incidents across any of our locations.<\/p>\n
Cellpros had no prior knowledge of Mr. Fitzgerald’s pending legal matters outside of work at the time of his employment, as standard pre-employment screening at that time focused on direct professional reference and prior employer verifications. Upon learning of the incident, Cellpros management took immediate action by terminating Mr. Fitzgerald’s employment for cause, permanently banning him from our premises, and cooperating fully and transparently with law enforcement throughout their investigation.<\/p>\n
In response to your specific inquiries regarding our operational security and hiring procedures:<\/p>\n
Enhanced Device Security Protocols: Cellpros has instituted a comprehensive operational overhaul across all store locations. This includes transitioning exclusively to hardware ‘power-only’ charging docks with physically disabled data pins to prevent any technical data extraction during charging, establishing mandatory dual-custody device storage, restricting passcode collection to real-time counter verifications only, and installing upgraded workbench camera surveillance. Comprehensive Background Screening Mandate: Cellpros has now mandated comprehensive criminal background checks-including federal, state, county, and sex offender registry screens-for all prospective employees prior to hire. Furthermore, a retroactive background audit has been initiated across all current personnel. <\/p>\n
Because this matter involves active litigation, we cannot comment on specific legal details of the pending lawsuit. Our priority remains strictly focused on maintaining the highest standards of customer data protection and operating with complete transparency.”<\/p>\n
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