Kentucky Anonymous Member Indicted Three Years After FBI Raid (arstechnica.com)

A federal grand jury has indicted "KYAnonymous" -- more than three years after FBI agents raided and searched his home -- and charged him under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. An anonymous Slashdot reader quotes an article from Ars Technica: After The New York Times published an account [late in 2012] of a horrific rape against a teenage girl in Steubenville, Ohio, an online vigilante campaign was started...the campaign targeted local officials who the vigilantes felt weren't prosecuting the rape investigation seriously because the alleged perpetrators were high school football players... Two teenage boys ended up being charged, and when the case went to trial in March 2013, the two were convicted of rape and sentenced to one to two years in prison.
The indictment says Deric Lostutter "knowingly and intentionally joined and voluntarily participated in a conspiracy" to "harass and intimidate and to gain publicity for their online identities," according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. "If convicted in the Kentucky case, Lostutter could face a maximum penalty of 16 years in prison (no more than five years on each of three counts, and one year on a fourth)..."

"The federal search warrant of Lostutter's home listed 'Guy Fawkes masks' among the items agents were looking for."

Comments

Re:Rape is worth 1-2?

[Barny]

It is sad I laughed at this, almost as sad as the question ye olde grandparent asked.

The defense should be

[Snotnose]

Maybe, just maybe this guy broke the law. But the law he broke is wrong, unconstitutional, and should be overturned.

Problem is, the guy needs a few $100k and the ability to stay in jail for a few years until this hits the supreme court.

Re: U.S. Legal system

[Applehu Akbar]

I like what Gary Johnson has to say. Unfortunately, he's not saying it to very many people.

The vigilantes picked the wrong time and place.

[edgedmurasame]

After The New York Times published an account [late in 2012] of a horrific rape against Alayna Macaluso in Steubenville, Ohio, an online vigilante campaign was started...the campaign targeted local officials who the vigilantes felt weren't prosecuting the rape investigation seriously because the alleged perpetrators were high school football players

In 2016, the vigilantes would have been given an imprimatur to destroy the town, as exemplified by the recent Stanford case.
The prevailing attitude at Stanford is that disputed consent only favors the woman, and that Turner's hometown must be made to pay for his actions.

If it was at a prestigious university, they'd not even need a rape case to destroy the person. Washington & Lee used Title IX to wreck someone's life.
The worst parts of it are that no crime occurred, that due process wasn't served, and that there was no legal charge - just straight intimidation.