Police ID Clay County Auditor William Norris as 'suspect' in NBC Action News nude pic investigation

LIBERTY, Missouri - A police spokesman says Clay County Auditor William Norris is a suspect in cyber crime case filed after NBC Action News uncovered nude photos and felony records linked to the politician .

According to documents obtained by NBC Action News, the Western Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force is investigating the case as “tampering with computer data.”

Twenty-five-year-old Amanda Grabos contacted authorities when an NBC Action News investigation uncovered nude photos of her on a Photobucket account linked to Clay County Auditor William Norris.

The Photobucket account had approximately 80 photos. In addition to five photos of Grabos, pictures depicted the politician sitting on the toilet, weighing himself on a scale, lifting weights, being sworn in as auditor, Norris’ home, photos of his vehicles, and pictures of his dog.

Our investigation found, in March, someone anonymously posted the same photos to the internet gossip site, TheDirty.

The Photobucket account is registered under one of many e-mail addresses linked to Norris through police reports, victim accounts, or internet searches that we uncovered while tracking his digital footprint.

The NBC Action News investigation also uncovered felony papers documenting Norris’ criminal past. The Clay County Prosecutor’s Office is currently reviewing those documents to determine whether Norris can legally hold office.

The Western Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force is releasing few details of the case involving Grabos’ nude photos.

“I can tell you, since that initial request of yours came in, Mr. Norris has been listed as a suspect in that,” said spokesman Captain Erik Holland. “That investigation is still ongoing, so there’s not much we can release about it.”

The police report identifies Grabos as the victim and names the location of the crime as a government building.

As part of the NBC Action News investigation, we filed an open records request for every site visited by his county computer.

In addition to poker sites, which Norris claims he visited to audit the county's internet controls, his computer also made multiple visits to dating sites, including blackpeoplemeet.com, and a dating service for big and beautiful singles.

It also recorded four attempts to access TheDirty, which Clay County blocked listing it as an adult web site.

TheDirty is the site where someone anonymously posted the pictures uncovered by NBC Action News which is now at the center of the police cyber probe.

We identified the victim by posting a G-rated picture on Facebook.

Grabos is from Norris' hometown of Trenton, Missouri.

In an email to me during our investigation, Norris tried to explain claiming the nude photos were "possibly from a forwarded text message or multimedia message. I do not know that person personally." He said denying knowing the nude woman.

Shortly after we asked Norris about the nude photos, all the photos from the Photobucket account were removed.

Norris has not responded to our request for comment about his being named as a suspect.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

Sources confirm probe into Clay Co. Auditor William Norris' offenses uncovered by NBC Action News

Sites labeled adult, gambling, and dating recorded on Clay County Auditor William Norris' Web hits

Clay Co. Auditor William Norris, nude photos, felony papers exposed by NBC Action News