A state Superior Court panel has reinstated felony charges against an ex-Williamsport police officer accused of using the state criminal justice records system to obtain information on women for sexual purposes.

Charges against Former Cpl. Eric B. Derr, who had 28 counts of unlawful use of a computer filed by the state attorney general’s office, were reinstated, according to a story by John Beauge of PennLive.com.

Derr, 38, allegedly used a system for police for four years to obtain unauthorized information on 25-plus individuals, including one woman 18 times. He resigned.

The other charges against Derr accuse him of becoming romantically involved with a woman he encountered during a drug arrest and then assisting her in avoiding police and evading prosecution.

They also allege he obtained sex from a woman to resolve her retail theft case instead of filing charges as he informed the store he would.

The panel opinion said evidence was presented in testimony that Derr’s permission to retrieve data from the law enforcement computer system was limited to official police business and that he had used the system for personal reasons.

This is the fourth ruling on the computer charges. The first rulings were dismissed at the preliminary hearing, but new charges filed under a different section of the law later were held for court.

Specially assigned Somerset County Senior Judge David C. Klementik in January 2022 had cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision in dismissing them.

But he found a case had been established on misdemeanor charges of unsworn falsification to authorities, tampering with public records and obstructing the administration of law from other incidents.

Prosecution of Derr on those charges in Lycoming County court had been stayed pending the outcome of the attorney general’s appeal of the dismissal of the felonies.

The appeal process may not be over. The state Supreme Court will be asked to accept an appeal of the panel’s decision, Derr’s attorney Robert A. Hoffa said.

In relying on the Supreme Court decision, Klementik ruled Derr had violated the rules for use of the system that is unlawful to use other than expressed police purposes, but he had not exceeded his authorization to access the system.

The judge pointed out Derr was not “hacking” to gain access because he was an authorized user.

Reliance by Klementik on the Supreme Court decision that involved a violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was misplaced because that law differs from the state’s unlawful use of a computer statute, the panel’s opinion said.