Original Article Detective indicted on 23 counts Phoenix veteran accused of tampering with computers Lindsey Collom The Arizona Republic Oct. 27, 2005 12:00 AM A Phoenix police detective has been indicted on 23 counts of computer tampering after investigators said he used his authority to access secure information for personal interest. Juan H. Rivera, a 13-year veteran of Phoenix police, is on paid administrative leave. He will be arraigned Oct. 31 in Maricopa County Superior Court. In the past two years, Rivera allegedly accessed police and motor vehicle records of at least 23 people, including acquaintances and city employees; some were people he once dated, said Sgt. Lauri Williams, a Phoenix police spokeswoman. What Rivera did with the information is not known, Williams said. Police were tipped off in June after a detective in the Violent Crime Bureau Robbery Detail, where Rivera is assigned, found a printout of a co-worker's driver license. When presented with the copy, the co-worker became "concerned." Investigators determined the license was printed from Rivera's computer and a full-scale investigation was launched, Williams said. "It is unnerving, especially in this day and age of privacy and identity theft," she said. "You can get tons of info on a person. You can imagine the kind of info we can access." Any citizen can access public records, including police reports and motor vehicle information. But the Police Department viewed Rivera's activities as an abuse of authority, Williams said. "I think this is a rare case in that a police officer is using his authority essentially for personal interest," she said. "It's something we're not going to tolerate here in our Police Department." Reach the reporter at lindsey.collom@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8557.