A former Cox Communications employee who aired 37 seconds of an X-rated movie during the 2009 Super Bowl was given three years' probation and an earful from a judge Thursday morning.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Clark Munger told Frank Tanori Gonzalez he may have thought what he did was funny, but he thinks Gonzalez should have been charged with a sex offense.
Had Gonzalez showed the same clip to a couple of 9-year-olds in his living room, Munger said he would've ensured Gonzalez never saw the light of day.
"This is going to look like a ridiculously lenient sentence, and it is," but he was bound by the plea agreement, Munger said.
Gonzalez, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of computer tampering in October as part of a plea agreement that stipulated he serve three years' probation and pay a $1,000 fine to the Arizona attorney general's anti-racketeering fund. If Gonzalez successfully completes his probation, the crime will be designated a misdemeanor rather than a felony.
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Gonzalez was a Cox Communications employee who was working as a liaison with Comcast when he accessed Comcast's computer system without proper authorization in June 2008 and February 2009. The pornography incident took place during the second incident.
Gonzalez was arrested by Marana police and the FBI on suspicion of fraud and computer tampering earlier this year.
Tucson received national attention after a clip from "Wild Cherries 5" aired three minutes before the Arizona Cardinals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The game was shown locally on KVOA. The station sent its signals - both standard definition and high definition - to Cox Communications, which then sent them to Comcast.
Only those watching the standard-definition feed of the game on KVOA saw the clip.
KVOA officials said the station's signal didn't have porn on it when the station sent it over to Comcast.
The X-rated footage was running on a Cox channel at the same time that the Super Bowl was being shown on Comcast.
Comcast ended up offering a $10 credit to all of its 80,000 subscribers, whether they witnessed the scene or not.
Under the terms of Gonzalez's plea agreement, he will not be allowed to work as a computer expert without prior permission from his probation officer.
Munger said he was almost tempted to deny Gonzalez any access to the Internet.
If Gonzalez violates his probation, Munger said he would not be given a second chance.
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com
