Oregon Man Sentenced To Six Months In Prison In Celebrity Hacking Case

[Megalith]

While his attorney argued against a prison sentence because the technique he employed wasn’t particularly sophisticated, the guy responsible for The Fappening is getting six months in the federal slammer. Mr. Helton said he has been a “dead man walking” since his arrest in 2013, and his life has been taken over by mental illness.

"For more than two years, defendant Andrew Helton targeted, baited, and hooked unsuspecting victims with his phishing e-mails," Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie S. Christensen wrote in a filing urging Kronstadt to sentence Helton to at least a year in prison. "He targeted strangers, acquaintances, and celebrities alike. He trolled through their private e-mail accounts, accessing the most private of communications. He systematically pilfered nude and intimate images of his victims and stored them in his own computer for personal use."

 

[Babbster]

Six months is too light. Two to five years seems more appropriate. Information crimes need to be taken more seriously.

It's even more annoying that it took over 2 years for the process to end up with such a light sentence. Somebody caught with a gram of heroin sure wouldn't get that kind of treatment...in Oregon (where I and the scumbag both live), someone caught with heroin can get up to 10 years.

 

[primetime]

Six months is too light. Two to five years seems more appropriate. Information crimes need to be taken more seriously.

It's even more annoying that it took over 2 years for the process to end up with such a light sentence. Somebody caught with a gram of heroin sure wouldn't get that kind of treatment...in Oregon (where I and the scumbag both live), someone caught with heroin can get up to 10 years.

So heres no wonder why prescription pills are at an all time epidemic

 

[Babbster]

So heres no wonder why prescription pills are at an all time epidemic

True enough. Though I don't have any problem with it being illegal to possess or sell heroin (it's dangerous as hell, as are opioid pain killers), throwing addicts in prison for all these years hasn't done a damned thing to fix what should be treated as a medical problem. Meanwhile, this asshole - who went out of his way to hurt people by stealing from and then humiliating them - gets to live at home for years after arrest and then end up with a 6-month prison sentence, from which he'll probably be paroled before serving the full term.

 

[evilsofa]

At least he got more prison time than 97 percent of rapists.

 

[MongGrel]

I'm still surprised the guy managed to gain access to that much information to begin with and had it stored up.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Well thank god justice has been served for someone who committed a crime against 0.001% of the population (namely celebs, of a female nature)

 

[Kalabalana]

At least he got more prison time than 97 percent of rapists.

Stop and think about why you introduced this into the dialog.

 

[Chaos Machine]

Well thank god justice has been served for someone who committed a crime against 0.001% of the population (namely celebs, of a female nature)

Murder effects a smaller percentage of the population, especially if the victim doesn't have much of a family. I am not following your point.

 

[{NG}Fidel]

Stop and think about why you introduced this into the dialog.

Because its a indictment of our fucked system.

 

[Azphira]

Because its a indictment of our fucked system.

Kinda like how one has to flee to Russia, the other gets to run for president?

 

[evilsofa]

Kinda like how one has to flee to Russia, the other gets to run for president?

He hasn't fled to Russia yet, he is just very dependent on Russian funding.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Murder effects a smaller percentage of the population, especially if the victim doesn't have much of a family. I am not following your point.

This would be a valid argument if only one small specifc group was murdered, say celebs, in which cas yeah I would also bitch about spending so many resources to help just celebs as well.

 

[Chaos Machine]

This would be a valid argument if only one small specifc group was murdered, say celebs, in which cas yeah I would also bitch about spending so many resources to help just celebs as well.

Are you insinuating that they should also not be devoting as many resources to catching hackers of non-celebs? Or that spending the resources they did to catch the hack wasn't worth their time?

 

[ruffbytes]

I think this is a horrible sentence. It should be much higher. Although they weren't sophisticated techniques, it doesn't really matter. Someone who has the time and the focus to carry these attacks out did it very purposefully. I don't buy this mental illness defense as he had to have known what he was doing to pull these crimes off. You don't just go crazy and in the heat of the moment hack 10s (100s or 1000s ?) of iTunes accounts.

I hope at least the terms of his release bar use of electronics for a decade or so.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Are you insinuating that they should also be devoting as many resources to catching hackers of non-celebs? Or that spending the resources they did to catch the hack wasn't worth their time?

Edited your post to reflect my views. Yes I am insinuating that they should be devoting as many resources to catching hackers of non-celebs. Star X has her tits shown on the internet and the FBI is on the case, my information potentially compromised because Target/Home Depot/UC Berkeley/etc are fucking computer morons and I get a letter that says *I* should watch my credit but we'll give you a free year subscription to do so. Hell I think the whole "Fappening" thing is the reason why there are now laws against posting "revenge porn" now. Charles Limbergh had to have his child kidnapped for congress to make kidnapping a federal crime. How many celebs committed suicide because their tits were on the internet? How many teenage girls have but not have nearly a fraction of the attention paid to their cases?

This isn't about me thinking hacking should be ignored, it's about the improper allocation of resources based on class/job.

 

[Babbster]

Edited your post to reflect my views. Yes I am insinuating that they should be devoting as many resources to catching hackers of non-celebs. Star X has her tits shown on the internet and the FBI is on the case, my information potentially compromised because Target/Home Depot/UC Berkeley/etc are fucking computer morons and I get a letter that says *I* should watch my credit but we'll give you a free year subscription to do so. Hell I think the whole "Fappening" thing is the reason why there are now laws against posting "revenge porn" now. Charles Limbergh had to have his child kidnapped for congress to make kidnapping a federal crime. How many celebs committed suicide because their tits were on the internet? How many teenage girls have but not have nearly a fraction of the attention paid to their cases?

This isn't about me thinking hacking should be ignored, it's about the improper allocation of resources based on class/job.

You're talking crap here. You're simultaneously arguing that high-profile cases generate attention and apparently sometimes useful new laws, while saying the authorities shouldn't pay so much attention to the high-profile cases. You may want to give this at least some minimal thought and consideration.