Immigration agent faces trial in Denver

DENVER, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- A federal immigration agent faces trial in Denver on misdemeanor charges for allegedly gaining improper access to national crime data.

Cory Voorhis is charged with improperly accessing the National Crime Information Center computer to help candidate Bob Beauprez's campaign for governor, the Denver Post said Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge John L. Kane declined to dismiss the charges Tuesday, ruling that Voorhis was not improperly singled out for prosecution.

Voorhis' attorneys argued that other people had accessed the same information about Carlos Estrada-Medina, an illegal immigrant who avoided a long prison term or deportation through a plea deal from former Denver district attorney Bill Ritter, who is now governor. Estrada-Medina was later charged with a child sex offense in San Francisco, the newspaper said.

Prosecutors said information provided by Voorhis was used in a television ad Beauprez ran towards the end of the 2006 gubernatorial race.