Man says estranged wife's family hacked his email

A St. Clair County man says his email account was hacked by the family of his soon-to-be ex-wife.

William E. Shrum filed a lawsuit July 25 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Roy Harless, Jennifer Harless and Sevilia Mengote Shrum.

William Shrum filed for divorce from Sevilia M. Shrum March 22 in St. Clair County Circuit Court, according to the lawsuit. Shrum says in May he created a personal email account specifically for messages concerning the divorce proceedings. Shrum alleges that on more than one occasion Roy Harless accessed the email without permission for the purpose of reading messages about the divorce.

Roy Harless is the husband of Jennifer Harless who is also the sister of Sevilia Shrum, the petition reads. Harless allegedly hacked Shrum's email, at the urging of his wife and sister-in-law, to gain information that might help Sevilia Shrum during the divorce case.

William Shrum accuses the defendants of computer tampering and fraud. He asks for more than $150,000 in damages plus court costs. Attorney Kevin J. Babb, of Edwardsville, represents the plaintiff.

St. Clair County Circuit Court Case No. 13-L-385