Man Steals Computer From Church, Asks If They’ll Remove Porn Block

Man Steals Computer From Church, Asks If They’ll Remove Porn Block

Stealing computers is bad — everybody already knows that. And stealing from a church (or any non-profit institution for that matter) is extra bad. But if you must steal a computer from a church — especially one you’re a member of — don’t call up the software blocking company and ask if they’ll remove the porn filter. As Troy Ridling of Owasso, Oklahoma found out the hard way, you’re not going to like the answer.

It all started about two and a half weeks ago when an employee at the Owasso First Assembly of God noticed that one of the computers had gone missing and alerted the police. What’s more, he knew the perpetrator had to be a church member; there were no signs of a break-in and nothing else had been touched. But without any other leads, the police were effectively stuck.

That changed a few weeks later when that very same employee got a call from the portentously named Covenant Eyes, which had been hired by the church to banish smut from every harddrive within its hallowed halls. According to the company, someone had been attempting to look up porn on a church computer.

Apparently, once Ridling had settled in to his ill-gotten GBs, he was dismayed to discover that his new rig had a puritanical streak. All prayer and no porn makes Ridling, well, pretty pissed, apparently, so he called Covenant Eyes and asked them to take down the monitoring software. Covenant Eyes, of course, denied his request, at which point they called the church and let the police track down the offending soul.

As soon as the cops got Ridling in custody, he tried to deny that he’d stolen the computer, which was a difficult story to uphold considering it had been discovered at his home immediately after questioning. Ridling eventually confessed and found himself in Tulsa County Jail. Hopefully, the computers there are a little more accommodating. [KRMG]

Image: Shutterstock/Steven Frame


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