Is Cheating Such a Crime?

Sept. 20, 2007 — -- For a small town, Hanover, N.H., is home to some prestigious institutions. Dartmouth College, a member of the Ivy League, is nestled in the center of town, and the renowned Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is right down the road.

Incomes and housing prices are high in Hanover, and so are parents' expectations. Every June, the local Valley News prints a list of students next to the name of the college they will attend. "The status symbol here is not what car you drive but where your kids go to college," said Jim Kenyon, a columnist for Valley News.

And now in this academic pressure cooker a cheating scandal has roiled tensions and divided the town.

Kenyon's 17-year-old son, Nicholas, and eight of his classmates from Hanover High School are facing criminal charges in connection with a series of events that took place at the school last June.

According to police, just before final exams, several students stole a set of keys, broke into a locked cabinet and grabbed some math exams while other students acted as lookouts. A few days later, more students allegedly stole chemistry exams. The police report states that other students were enlisted to figure out the answers, and the results may have been widely distributed. As many as 60 students may have cheated.

After an investigation, four students were charged with criminal trespass for their alleged role in the theft. Five other students, who allegedly acted as lookouts, have been charged with "criminal liability for the conduct of another."

In New Hampshire's criminal justice system, 17-year-olds are treated as adults. All these charges are classified as Class B misdemeanors, and carry a fine of $1,200, but no jail time.

"This was not a crime of opportunity. This was premeditated. There were some plans that were tried and then retried. They made some serious attempts. We do not investigate things like cheating, but this was breaking and entering," said Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaconne.