DA: 2 former school bus drivers break into Parkland School District bus garage, illegally access computer records, student photograph rosters | Allentown Area

S. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – Two former district school bus drivers are being accused of breaking into a Parkland School District bus garage and illegally gaining access to computer records, including student photograph rosters.

Shawn Levy, 32, of Breinigsville, and Tyler Young, 27, of Allentown, are both charged with felony counts of Conspiracy to Burglary, Conspiracy to Criminal Trespass, and Conspiracy to the Unlawful Duplication, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

The DA’s office said Levy and Young had been previously employed as Parkland School District bus drivers.

On June 8, Parkland School Director of Safety Dr. Anthony Naradko notified South Whitehall Township Police about an unauthorized entry into the Orefield Middle School bus garage, according to the DA’s office.

The school district provided surveillance video from the night of the incident around 10 p.m. June 6, according to the news release.

The DA’s office said the video showed Levy and Young arrive together in a Tesla registered to Young. The car parked in a lot near the garage and a few minutes later, they entered a secure bus garage which neither had access to open, according to the DA’s office.

The video surveillance showed Levy and Young remain inside the garage for nearly two hours before they both left together, the DA’s office said.

According to the DA’s office, school district officials said neither defendant was permitted nor authorized to be inside the facility after hours.

Garage Foreman Daniel Blewitt reported that on June 6, while he was not present at work, he received notifications about new computer login attempts, the DA’s office said.

The DA’s office said those attempts showed access from Blewitt’s cellphone and computer. According to the DA’s office, Blewitt’s computer was inside the Orefield Middle School bus garage located at 2619 Stadium Drive.

According to the DA’s office, Blewitt reviewed the account history and discovered that multiple disciplinary files had been accessed on June 6.

During the course of the investigation, school district employees found a printed student roster that included photographs of students on Levy’s assigned school bus, according to the news release.

The DA’s office said the roster had been printed on April 25.

School officials said student photograph rosters are only accessible through the Parkland School District’s software system and access is restricted to administrative personnel, according to the DA’s office.

According to the news release, neither Levy nor Young had authorized access to the student photograph rosters.

The investigation later revealed that on at least 55 different occasions between March 25 and June 5, an off-site IP address associated with Levy and Young had been used to gain unauthorized access to another district employee’s account, the DA’s office said.

The DA’s office said the address had also been used to view and duplicate protected electronic files and records, including the student photograph roster.

According to the DA’s office, Young was arraigned Thursday before Magisterial District Judge Derek A. Kirsopp and is free on unsecured $50,000 bail.

Unsecured bail requires no money to be posted as long as the defendant appears for all court appearances.

The DA’s office said Levy surrendered and is in custody Friday and will be arraigned later.

Young’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. July 16 before Magisterial District Judge Kirsopp.

The DA’s office said it and the South Whitehall Township Police requested cash bail for Levy and Young, citing the circumstances of the allegations, which included unlawfully accessing and printing Parkland School District elementary student rosters with children’s photographs.