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Fear of smart phone spying leads to assault

Victim had grabbed man's phone to check apps
Posted at 1:17 PM, Mar 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-07 17:24:58-05
They are the tell-tale signs of domestic abuse.
 
"The deputy did observe bruising from the alleged assault," said Cpl. Jon Light of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. 
 
But it is the allegations surrounding the events leading up to the arrest of 54-year old John Kipling Caldwell that signal new pitfalls in advances found on smart phones.
 
The clock had just struck midnight on Saturday at Caldwell's home on Hunting Horn Drive in Finksburg when a verbal dispute with a woman turned physical.
 
The victim told police she suspected Caldwell had placed some type of application on her phone that would allow him to track her whereabouts and to listen to conversations on her phone.
 
Things quickly escalated when she grabbed his phone to check his apps.
 
"When she grabbed his phone, he then grabbed her (and) put her in a bear hug until she released the phone,” said Light, “He was able to recover his phone at that point."
 
The victim scrambled out of the house with her daughter and drove to the sheriff's office where the deputy observed bruises on her chest, which led to Caldwell's arrest---the culmination of jealousy, distrust and alleged cell phone stalking that spawned violence behind closed door.
 
"Well, certainly there is a lot of information available through social media and other applications, whether it's phone-based or not,” said Light, “There's just a lot of information out there, and while we don't necessarily see a huge amount of issues there, it does exist and there are potential issues to be had."
 
John Caldwell faces a second degree assault charge, and he was released from the detention center the same day of his arrest.
 

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