North Royalton hacking suspect released after 9 years in jail awaiting trial

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A North Royalton man accused in a widespread computer hacking case was ordered released from jail on Thursday after spending more than nine years in pretrial lockup while waiting for a resolution in his case.

Philip Durachinsky, who was arrested on federal charges on Jan. 25, 2017, will be released from the Mahoning County Jail within seven days of U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver’s ruling. Oliver said he would issue a separate ruling laying out restrictions imposed on Durachinsky while his case is pending.

Federal prosecutors did not oppose the request for Durachinsky’s release.

Durachinsky , 37, faces charges that accuse him of hacking into thousands of computers to surreptitiously watch, listen and record people.

Prosecutors say he used malware called FruitFly to hack into thousands of computers at schools, universities, local, state and federal government agencies, businesses and people’s personal computers.

The malware also allowed him to remotely turn on people’s web cameras and microphones without them knowing and watch them in real-time, prosecutors say.

Durachinsky saved some 20 million files, including some prosecutors said amounted to child pornography, and took copious notes on what he observed when he watched people, according to prosecutors.

The case has been delayed for numerous reasons. Prosecutors have filed two superseding indictments, several rulings have been appealed, and Durachinsky has repeatedly clashed with attorneys—at times representing himself.

He has also undergone two competency evaluations that yielded mixed results. He was ultimately found competent — meaning he can assist in his own defense — in December 2025.

Durachinsky is highly intelligent, but has autism spectrum disorder that some evaluators said limited his ability to fully understand the charges against him.

His current attorney, Michael Goldberg, was appointed to represent him on Dec. 29, 2025. Goldberg said the first thing he did when he got the case was ask for Durachinsky’s release.

“This guy has been in pretrial detention for nine years,” Goldberg said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m glad the judge agreed and now that he’s going , I hope he can get us up to speed on the case.”

Goldberg successfully argued that Durachinsky wasn’t a danger to the community or a flight risk. Durachinsky will live with his parents while out on bond and will not have access to the internet.

Oliver’s ruling said that releasing Durachinsky was necessary to allow him to prepare with his attorney for trial.

“Defendant has shown throughout the pretrial process that he is intensely interested in being involved with all aspects of his case, and wishes to be extremely interactive with his counsel,” Oliver wrote.

Oliver acknowledged in his ruling that nine years of pretrial detention is lengthy and that other courts have found significantly shorter periods to be excessive, but declined to rule on Goldberg’s arguments that the length of time violated Durachinsky’s rights.