Buhl to Receive Bench Trial in Harrassment Case

New Canaan resident Teri Buhl waived her right to a jury trial last week in a case where she is accused of posting the personal journal entries of her then-boyfriend's teenage daughter online, according to the New Canaan Advertiser.

Buhl is due to appear in court on Jan. 28, 2013, according to the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch Web site.

Buhl told the Advertiser that she requested a bench trial because she felt "inaccurate reporting" by local media outlets would make it "too hard to pick a jury."

In June 2010, Buhl's boyfriend at the time, a New Canaan resident, and his then 17-year-old daughter, reported to New Canaan police that someone had gained access to the daughter's personal journal and posted excerpts on Facebook.

Containing sexually explicit information, accounts of underage drinking and other personal information, the entries were from a notebook, which father and daughter said she kept in the bedroom of their home.

As the investigation continued, according to an affidavit application filed with the court by Sgt. Carol Ogrinc of the New Canaan Police Department, the Facebook account creation and postings were traced to IP addresses associated with Buhl's Optonline Internet service subscriber account at home on Locust Avenue in New Canaan, as well as to a computer at New Canaan Library.

Buhl was charged with second-degree harassment, second-degree breach of peace and interfering with an officer, all misdemeanors.