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Racist Comment Probe Unable To Confirm Paddack Posted, But Message Originated From Home IP Address

Racist Comment Probe Unable To Confirm Paddack Posted, But Message Originated From Home IP Address
Councilman Mark Paddack is pictured taking his seat on the dais after a 2018 swearing-in ceremony. File Photo

OCEAN CITY — The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation into an elected official’s racist social media comment has been completed as inconclusive.

Ocean City Councilman Mark Paddack was accused last September of making negative comments against a local businessman with alleged racial overtones. The comments were shared and quickly went viral through the local community. From the beginning, Paddack asserted his Facebook account had been hacked and was not responsible for the alleged offensive comments.

The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office at Paddack’s request initiated a detailed, multi-party electronic investigation into the incident. The Sheriff’s Office final report obtained last week states the results of the investigation are inconclusive.

The report and the included supplemental reports are lengthy and full of technical details about the forensic investigation into the accounts from which the offensive message was allegedly sent including a probe into different IP addresses. Donna Eno of D. Eno Forensics conducted an independent investigation, and its final report was reviewed and analyzed by the Sheriff’s Office’s own analysts including Digital Forensics Examiner Peter Kupec of the Criminal Enforcement Team.

Based on the various investigations and reports, the Sheriff’s Office’s final report is the potential source of the alleged offensive social medial messages is inconclusive. Although the final report does not completely exonerate the beleaguered councilman, who shortly after the alleged incident was censured by his colleagues on the council, the extensive investigation could not determine the source.

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