‘Suffering Causes People To Make Mistakes,’ Says Prosecutor Who Used Cop Databases To Spy On Romantic Rival

A Connecticut prosecutor who allegedly went full scorned-spouse — yelling outside a woman’s apartment complex, sending 41 text messages in a single hour, and oh yeah, using her privileged access to restricted law enforcement databases to dig up dirt on her husband’s alleged romantic interest — has been granted an accelerated rehabilitation program on the computer crimes charges. Complete it in nine months, and the whole thing goes away in March 2027.

Connecticut Superior Court Judge Walter A. Menjivar granted the diversionary program to Christa Baker, also known as Christa O’Connell, on two computer crime charges, giving her nine months to successfully complete the program before the case against her is dismissed. The stalking charges were also dropped at the hearing.

The computer crimes here aren’t abstract. State police allege Baker accessed databases known as eProsecutor and MAJEB (Municipal Access-Judicial Electronic Bridge) on multiple occasions to pull information on the victim. Baker had two separate systems she was not supposed to be using for personal background checks on a romantic rival, and she used both. Repeatedly.

Baker, a senior assistant state’s attorney in New London and a prosecutor since 2006, has been on administrative leave with pay since August 13. So, yeah, she’s been collecting a government paycheck while this whole saga played out.

At the hearing, Baker addressed the court with the kind of statement that sounds profound if you don’t think about it too hard. “Suffering causes people to make mistakes,” she said. And, “This has destroyed my family, and if I could take it all back, I would.”

Her attorney, John Nazzaro, leaned even harder into the sympathetic framing. “She wanted to very much adhere to the rules of ethics and did not realize that she was running afoul of any computer access law, but she was under a lot of strain in trying to preserve her family,” Nazzaro said.

Sure, she just wanted to preserve her family. By running unauthorized database queries on the woman her husband was sleeping with, through law enforcement systems she was entrusted with as an officer of the state. The “I didn’t realize it was illegal” defense is interesting coming from someone who has spent two decades as a prosecutor.

The underlying facts, per the arrest warrant, are vivid. Baker allegedly showed up outside the victim’s apartment complex in Norwich in December 2024 and yelled, “I know you’re here with your whore, tell her to come outside.” The victim told police she didn’t go outside because she was on parole and knew Baker was a prosecutor.

Subsequent text messages from Baker included, “I gave you a warning. You want to play we can play.” At one point, Baker sent 41 messages within an hour. The victim also allegedly responded with a series of calls, texts, and unwanted contact to Baker’s friends and family.

According to reports, police interviewed Baker and she admitted the statements could have been perceived as a threat. 

“The ‘play if you wanna play,’ I could see, yes. But the ‘you gotta remember the choices will come back around on you’ is not a threat,” Baker told state police, according to the warrant. “That is karma.” 

The accelerated rehabilitation program is available to first-time offenders in Connecticut for lower-level charges, and getting it isn’t entirely unusual. The system worked out pretty well for Christa Baker… which, given that she spent nearly 20 years as part of that system, perhaps shouldn’t surprise anyone.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1