Dixon High Senior Accused Of Changing Grades Of Dozens Of Students

DIXON (CBS13) — A student faces felony charges as he's accused of hacking into the school's computer system and changing grades.

Dixon schools superintendent Brian Dolan called it a "betrayal" as he revealed more about the grade-changing scandal at Dixon High School.

"This is really distressing situation, they really feel violated," he said. "And not just the teachers whose grade books were altered, but pretty much everyone across the staff here."

Senior Juan Ambriz, 18, is accused of changing more than 200 grades for at least 32 students. They believe it started in January, but a teacher noticed a changed grade this week.

Eventually, they discovered Ambriz was the alleged ringleader. He's facing a felony charge of unauthorized access of a database. Police say there could be other arrested.

All 32 students with changed grades will be interviewed. Three have already been suspended. The school is leaving open the option of withholding diplomas if the investigation stretches past next month's graduation.

Computer forensics expert and former FBI agent Don Vilfer says many schools throughout the nation have become targets for hacking—not just for changing grades, but to access students' personal information.