Bettencourt ruling expected next Friday

PEABODY – Parties involved in the trial of Peabody Police Lt. Edward Bettencourt will have to wait another week before hearing the decision of Suffolk Superior Court Associate Justice Margaret Hinkle.Hinkle was originally scheduled to announce her verdict Friday, but prior commitments caused her to push back the date by a week. Grant Woodman of the Attorney General’s press office said Thursday that Hinkle will decide the fate of the 55-year-old, who is charged with 21 counts of unauthorized access to a computer, on Friday, April 4 at 9 a.m.Bettencourt stands accused of accessing the confidential information of 20 fellow Peabody police officers and one Salem officer during his midnight shift on Christmas 2004. It is alleged that he then created false accounts on the Massachusetts Human Resource Division’s Civil Service Exam Applicant Web site to view the officers’ promotional exam scores.Bettencourt was originally indicted in October 2006. He has been on trial since Friday, March 7. If convicted, he could face up to $21,000 and nearly two years in the house of correction.