Update 1 p.m. ET
The 17-year-old suspect has been identified as Emily Rose Grover, and authorities in Florida have released mugshots of both suspects, WEAR-TV reports.
Earlier story:
A mother and daughter have been arrested in Florida on suspicion that they conspired to rig a vote that crowned the 17-year-old suspect Homecoming Queen.
As ABC News reports, Laura Rose Carroll, 50, and her 17-year-old daughter have been accused of illegally accessing school records to generate over 100 fraudulent votes for the unidentified teen vying for a spot on Tate High School’s Homecoming Court. Carroll is reportedly the school’s assistant principal, and allegedly abused her access to the student record system to cast the bogus votes, leading to her daughter’s Homecoming victory.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reportedly said that unauthorized activity in the school’s record system was connected to Carroll’s cell phone and home electronic devices. Her daughter was elected to the Homecoming Court with 246 votes — 117 of those which came from the same IP address in a short period of time.
Additionally, the 17-year-old reportedly made incriminating statements, telling fellow students that her mother had repeatedly accessed unauthorized student information in the past.
“I have known that [Carroll’s daughter] logs into her mom’s school account in order to access grades and test scores since freshman year when we became friends,” one witness reportedly said. “She looks up our group of friends grades and makes comments about how she can find out our test scores all the time.”
Carroll and her daughter are facing multiple third-degree felony counts, including unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and criminal use of personally identifiable information. According to ABC News, they will both also be charged with first-degree misdemeanor conspiracy.
Carroll was reportedly jailed on $8500 bond, and her daughter was booked into the Escambia Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Pensacola. It is unclear if the suspects remain in custody.
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[Feature image: Laura Carroll and Emily Grover/Escambia County Jail and FDLE]
