Palin's hacker facing 20 years in jail
Source: Agencies |
May 2, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
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A COLLEGE student who hacked into former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's e-mail account and posted some of its contents on the Internet was found guilty on Friday.
After four days of deliberations, a federal jury found David Kernell, the 22-year-old son of a Democratic Tennessee state legislator, guilty of obstruction of justice and unauthorized access of a computer.
Kernell was cleared of a wire fraud charge, and the jury could not agree on a charge of identity theft.
Judge Thomas Phillips declared a mistrial on the identity theft charge but did not set a date for sentencing.
The obstruction charge alone carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, while the computer access count is punishable by up to a year in jail.
Palin issued a statement on her Facebook page, thanking the jury and prosecutors and explaining the case's importance.
"Besides the obvious invasion of privacy and security concerns surrounding this issue, many of us are concerned about the integrity of our country's political elections. America's elections depend upon fair competition," the statement said.
"Violating the law, or simply invading someone's privacy for political gain, has long been repugnant to Americans' sense of fair play. As Watergate taught us, we rightfully reject illegally breaking into candidates' private communications for political intrigue in an attempt to derail an election."
Kernell had no comment, and he was released on bond.
Kernell's attorney argued during the trial that his actions were nothing more than a college prank, but prosecutors said Kernell had hoped to derail Palin's campaign.
After four days of deliberations, a federal jury found David Kernell, the 22-year-old son of a Democratic Tennessee state legislator, guilty of obstruction of justice and unauthorized access of a computer.
Kernell was cleared of a wire fraud charge, and the jury could not agree on a charge of identity theft.
Judge Thomas Phillips declared a mistrial on the identity theft charge but did not set a date for sentencing.
The obstruction charge alone carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, while the computer access count is punishable by up to a year in jail.
Palin issued a statement on her Facebook page, thanking the jury and prosecutors and explaining the case's importance.
"Besides the obvious invasion of privacy and security concerns surrounding this issue, many of us are concerned about the integrity of our country's political elections. America's elections depend upon fair competition," the statement said.
"Violating the law, or simply invading someone's privacy for political gain, has long been repugnant to Americans' sense of fair play. As Watergate taught us, we rightfully reject illegally breaking into candidates' private communications for political intrigue in an attempt to derail an election."
Kernell had no comment, and he was released on bond.
Kernell's attorney argued during the trial that his actions were nothing more than a college prank, but prosecutors said Kernell had hoped to derail Palin's campaign.
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