Protip: After Successfully Stealing A Car And Robbing A Bank... Don't Brag About It On YouTube

from the just-saying... dept

Wed, Dec 5th 2012 10:34am — Mike Masnick

No one ever said that criminals were particularly smart. Over the years, we've pointed to a number of incredibly stupid criminals who post evidence or confessions of their crimes in YouTube videos. What's amazed us, though, are politicians who argue that there should be additional criminal penalties for those who broadcast their crimes via YouTube, even as it presents evidence that makes it easier to convict them. In fact, we had a story of a City Council explicitly ordering a serial criminal to stop posting evidence of his crimes to YouTube.

Thankfully, such calls for adding penalties for dumb criminals publicly exposing evidence about their crimes seems to have died down. So, now we can see videos like the following in which Hannah Sabata, a 19-year-old from Nebraska, confesses to robbing a bank and a car and brags about it (and let's not even get into whether or not the Green Day tune with the video is infringing... though it looks like that's been "claimed" and "monetized" by ContentID): The video was posted last week... and apparently a lot of people called the local sheriff. Apparently Ms. Sabata also texted her ex-husband (an ex-husband at 19?) bragging about the crime as well, and he alerted the police also. Adding to the evidence: the outfit she wears in the video... is the same outfit she wore during the bank robbery.

"I've been sheriff for 19 years, and in law enforcement for 42 years, and I've never seen anything like this," Sheriff Radcliff said.

Yup. And it seems like a good thing that we have stupid criminals incriminating themselves so publicly, rather than making that an additional crime.

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Filed Under: bank robber, confession, criminals, dumb criminals

60 Comments

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Shadow Dragon (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 10:37am

Obviously people do that are either stupid or just arrogant.
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 10:43am

From a psychological standpoint, I believe that in my professional opinion, my brethren in psychology have something new to study in the field of criminal psychology. Serial killers are usually the ones with the "I'm going to leave my mark" in regard to their crimes. Man talk about job security in my field :-)
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Tunnen (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 10:44am

...
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anon, 5 Dec 2012 @ 10:55am

SAD
As she said in the video it was becasue the governement took her kid, lets not overlook the reason the person commited the crime, this is somethign that seems to be rather common on the internet, just call someone out on what they do withought any insight inot that persons motives.

And before the cries of you support her etc , no i dont not one little bit, she deserves everythign the judge throws at her but hopefully psychological investigations prove beyond a doubt that this was not as a result of a chemical imbalance due to giving birth then her kid taken from her, we always say animals act better than humans, well in this case she did not kill anyone , whereas try to take a bears baby away from it and it will rip you to pieces, try to take almost any animals kids away from them and they will do everything in there power to kill you, so maybe with a little understanding this girl can get help to cope with what has happened and get the treatment she needs not just locked away for a few years and forgotten about, until she comes out and does end up killing someone when she again robs a Bank.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:03am

While I agree that publicly broadcasting your undiscovered crimes shouldn't be an additional criminal offense, I wish there was some way she could be punished for the atrocious style and composition of this video.
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Rikuo (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:05am

"are politicians who argue that there should be additional criminal penalties for those who broadcast their crimes via YouTube, even as it presents evidence that makes it easier to convict them."

I remember seeing the following on the front page of the newspaper yesterday, but didn't buy the paper

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/education/stop-cyber-bullying/schools-ban-photos-to-sta mp-out-cyber-bullies-3315621.html

Long story short, after a few cyber bullying cases, schools in Ireland are being told to ban taking photos, unless its an official school project. Which in my humble opinion, is horrendous.
Now while this isn't at the level of being a crime (yet), it's still a horrible thing to ban.
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:06am

Re: SAD
anon, she's 19 years old and complaining that the Feds took her children away and is citing that as a reason for doing something criminally. She bragged about it to the public that she committed these crimes and there is no justification...not unless you count stupidity as a crime...for what she did.
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Chosen Reject (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:07am

Re: SAD
I agree that motivations for crime need to be looked at more closely. I'm certain that more crime can be stopped by fixing the reasons for the crime than by making punishments harsher. So many politicians want to be seen as doing something and choose the obvious path of making punishments harsher or increasing enforcement. So few (if any) actually want to change what might be causing* some to turn to crime.

*Right, I get it. It's a choice people make. But why are they making that decision. Sure some people are just bad apples, but some do it because they feel they have no other choice, even thought they do. Would free mental care reduce crime? Would therapy help? Would more jobs help? Would better welfare? Would reducing cops help? Would reducing the number of laws help? Would weakening federal government and diluting power to be more local help? I don't know. But this is an area I'd like to see explored more rather than simply increasing penalties.
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gorehound (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:08am

Chick Bank Robber was the best stupid crime video I ever saw !

I can just see the lines of young horny screwed up guys all asking Chick Bank Robber to Marry.
By the time she gets out it will be many years from now so dream on.
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:10am

Re:
It's called probable cause. If you murder someone, and fess up to it, does that prevent you from going to prison??

Before anyone scoffs at the seemingly bad analogy, take into account that she wore the same outfit the bank security cameras caught her in as she did in the video.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:11am

Re:
A simple Google image search of her name will disabuse anyone of the notion that this girl is good looking....
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:23am

Re: Re:
What? I was just commenting on the horrendous artistic aspects of this video.
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:35am

Re: Re: SAD
You've just taken me back to Psych 101. The problem in cases of desparatuion is that the human being will do anything at all to get what they want. Criminal psychology isn't my field...but I want to get into it now as there is more research to do.

The problem with crime vs. punishment is finding the ends that justify the means...humans are notorious at having trouble gauging that which is why we have cases such as these. We have ways to reinforce things, but it sometimes doesn't work out to teach a lesson. Though, admittedly, the risk of bruising one's own ego and id simultaneously in this way is a great example of negative reinforcement ;-)

The one thing I can cite is the abysmal success of a program we covered in my psych 101 class which teaches you about reinforcement.

There are many jokes, and cultural recerences therein, about the Scared Straight program to scare at risk teenagers by showing them what it's like in prison on the personal level. It was found that it did nothing to quell most patients' desires to do more criminal acts...

I agree that sometimes we need tougher penalties. Fast-forward to this problem where we think we need more punishment rather than treatment of a problem. Yes she needs to do her time, but can she competently prove to the court system to be a bit lenient on her through her justifications? My guess is no. The only reason I see it is the way the court see's it...if you're allowed to get a more lenient verdict without proof or psychological evaluation based on your justifications outside of any delusional behaviors, other people committing federal offenses (grand larceny of a bank ought to do it) will ask for it too.
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out_of_the_blue, 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:35am

When I said get stuff off Drudge, I didn't mean the stupid stuff.
Geez, you're down to "stupid criminals" and wallowing in it.

The measure of greatness on teh internets: What to ordinary people is a mere quip... An off-the-cuff remark... That they'd never think to mention again...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect
Let alone link to at every least excuse... Mike "Streisand Effect" Masnick sees as his claim to fame!
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:38am

Re: Re: Re:
Ugh lol sorry about that :-) Yeah I do agree with you on her delivery.
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Atkray (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:42am

Re: SAD
" lets not overlook the reason the person commited the crime,"

Because she is a criminal.

Now why she is a criminal I'll leave to Wally to delve into.

Also be careful with the comparisons to animals, some are know to eat their young.
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:42am

Re: When I said get stuff off Drudge, I didn't mean the stupid stuff.
Umm, what does your comment have to do with this post??? My guess is absolutely nothing....please move along...
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god riegn, 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:44am

The video was posted last week... and apparently a lot of people called the local sheriff. Apparently Ms. Sabata also texted her ex-husband (an ex-husband at 19?) bragging about the crime as well, and he alerted the police also.

a real professional is one who is never heard of.
~agent 47
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VMax, 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:44am

Re: Re: Re:
You need to cut her some slack. She's a professional bank robber, not cinematographer.
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Aaron *Head* Moss (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:44am

Re: When I said get stuff off Drudge, I didn't mean the stupid stuff.
And yet here you are replying to it.

If Mike is soooo bad, you must be so much worse actually reading his articles and wasting your time posting on them.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:46am

Re: When I said get stuff off Drudge, I didn't mean the stupid stuff.
Call an ambulance, I think you are having a stroke.
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Mesonoxian Eve (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:47am

I can see the headlines now:
"Techdirt's Mike Masnik charged with obstruction of justice by Florida District Attorney for hindering law enforcement by recommending criminals not post their crimes on the internet."

Flo-ri-da.

You've been (comically) warned, Mike.

Hmm... not sure if you'll look good in bright orange, but I'd pay to see the mugshot.

Another CwF opportunity!
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Mesonoxian Eve (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:49am

Re:
Oops. Submit before Preview.

This off the heals of law enforcement pissed off at Craigslist for practically doing the same thing.
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Rikuo (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:50am

Re: Re: When I said get stuff off Drudge, I didn't mean the stupid stuff.
No, call a priest. No living person with a working brain would do what Ootb does, so it's some sort of poltergeist controlling a keyboard.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:51am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
I guess that's true. Now I know what the real crime was: snobbery.
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:54am

Re: Re: SAD
Thanks Atkray.
Honestly, she is a criminal because of what she's done. Desparation or not, we all have to do our time when we knowingly commit a crime. There are far more desperate cases in crimes committed compared to what she did. She won't get off, she might get a lenient verdict. The bottom line she's got to do her time for robbing a bank.
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 11:56am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
VMax, in all honesty, the fact that she wore the same clothes in the video that she wore while robbing the bank indicates, to me at least, she's no professional by any means.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:00pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
A professional baseball player who can't hit, run, or throw is still a professional, I guess.
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:01pm

Re:
That I think is the "pay attention to me now!!!" factor involved with blatant desperation where a friend of mine would most definitely recommend that she sought treatment and got a bit of jail time.
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dlayzer (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:04pm

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
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Lisa Westveld (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:06pm

No, not stupid.
This girl isn't stupid. She just wanted to get caught. After a marriage gone wrong, I guess something just snapped in her mind and she wanted to end her current lifestyle, do something crazy and then spend some time in jail. Some people are just nutcases who want to be locked up...
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John Fenderson (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:12pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
This is so. "Professional" means getting paid for it. It does not comment on skill level.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:13pm

How dumb can you be? No mask? No dark room? I bet no proxy... Kids these days, so dumb...
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:13pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Because we all know that no professional criminal, much less professional anything in general, has NEVER made a mistake EVER in the history of time that has caused them to be convicted of a crime, miss a catch/pass, etc. /s

But just as long as she's wearing the same clothes we can rest assured that at least to Wally she is quite obviously no professional. Whew. That's a load off my mind, glad it's been settled then.
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Berenerd (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:26pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
So what you are saying, she can be an intern with the MPAA?
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:37pm

Re: No, not stupid.
Indeed - looks like a typical attention whore (and she does look like a whore), gone off the rails.
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:48pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Case in point....the Cleveland Browns.
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:51pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Holy crap!! I didn't know whether I should mark your comment as "Insightful" or "Funny"....I marked both for that zing :-)
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 12:54pm

I can see Hollywood stealing this story and putting it on film just like the convenience thief video end up on Battleship in the beginning of the movie.
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Lord Binky, 5 Dec 2012 @ 1:03pm

Did anyone notice this?
She was going to use some of the money to pay off her college financial aid....
*sigh*
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-dont-want-to-live-on-this-planet-anymore
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silverscarcat (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 1:20pm

Re: When I said get stuff off Drudge, I didn't mean the stupid stuff.
Did someone miss their afternoon nap?

Also, ootb, stop with the stupid sig already.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 1:29pm

Yes, sad.
I'm no psychiatrist, but clearly she wanted to be caught, which looks like a cry for help to me. And we don't know her circumstances so we have no right to judge her.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 3:37pm

You wouldn't steal a car..... oh wait, nevermind
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 4:19pm

Re: Yes, sad.
She stole a car and robbed a bank, that gives us every right to judge her.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 5:40pm

"No one ever said that criminals were particularly smart". Really? Whew, it's a good thing HACKING isn't done by smart people, huh? Yep, it takes no smarts, intelligence, or technical knowledge to HACK, does it?
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 6:04pm

Re: No, not stupid.
Lisa, desperation will make a person do anything. She needs treatment and counseling as well as a bit of jail time in my professional opinion, but outside of that, it's a simple case of a not so smart move by someone who was (and no I'm not brining age bias into this) not mature enough to act appropriately alone on the matter.
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Wally (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 6:10pm

Re:
I think what Mike Mansick means by "stupid criminal" has nothing to do with hacking. It's referring to the fact she texted her ex-husband about it and then but she posted everything on YouTube.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 7:32pm

Re: Re: Yes, sad.
Not without knowing the facts.
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Violated (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 7:42pm

Blonde
Well what can I say to that one but an online confession to drugs, car theft and the one that will send her away for very many years... armed bank robbery.

When she waved that $61xx on camera was a classic moment. Hey I robbed a bank and here is the stolen cash! I am sure this video will appear in Police shows for years to come.

She will be sorry to find out that her "the government made me do it" excuse won't win much appeal with the Judge when it was a purely selfish motive.

It is of course not nice to hear they took away her baby but it is easy to fill in the blanks here. She is a drug user with an obvious history and they charged her with that crime for drug use while she was pregnant. They took the baby into care because she is still a drug user and it is obvious her life contains much more bad stuff. So it was done in the best interests of the child and instead of cleaning up her act to appeal for reconsideration even now she proves to all she could not be a responsible mother.

Indeed now she will only make someone a nice blonde prison bitch with having strange things stuck in her various holes.

It was the best day of her life she said and she smiled so broadly as she held up that stolen money. Unfortunately for her life always has rules and it will be her worst day as she is sentenced for her crimes.

I would normally say if one needs to break the law to never tell anyone but in this case she clearly wanted to confess her various crimes to the world.
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G Thompson (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 9:17pm

Re: SAD
Her alleged motive, which by all accounts is a standard minimisation for her own conscience to deal with what she knows is wrong, is irrelevant in the charging of the crime and subsequent finding of guilt.

In fact she has by all accounts pleaded guilty by admission in this instance (Most crimes no matter what the media and TV shows try to say are actually solved by the stupidity or the egotistic nature - opening their big mouths - of criminals)

Though her motive can be used on her behalf in sentencing, and most likely will be used by any competent defence lawyer to try to mitigate any incarceration. There should be a motion for a psych evaluations by the defence, though even if any evaluation shows that she might have self-evident problems that doesn't means she wont be fully sentenced for her crimes.

People, rightly or wrongly, have children removed from their care every day but that doesn't give them the right to commit criminal offences that they know are wrongful and illegal.
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G Thompson (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 9:27pm

I would normally say if one needs to break the law to never tell anyone but in this case she clearly wanted to confess her various crimes to the world.

The perfect crime is one where no-one ever knows a crime actually happened!

Thankfully most criminals come undone because they can't not tell anyone. Stroking Ego's is a powerful weapon in any investigators arsenal.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 9:30pm

Does not mean she actually did the crimes
she might of said she did them, but I am sure she was not read her Miranda Rights read to her before making that clip, and it is not true that in the US you do not have to make self incriminating statements in court (the 5th), nor do you have to give evidence against your spouse.

Very good possibility that the court would be barred from seeing that vid, and that 'evidence' would not be allowed to be submitted in a court.

I don't know (or care) is she did it or not, but making a video saying you did certainly is not proof that she did any crime at all it's called circumstantial evidence and a decent judge and defence lawyer would not allow that clip to be submitted or vied by the jury.

She just goes to court, and UNDER OATH says that "I LIED" in that video clip, "now, prove with real physical evidence that I did those things you claim I did"..

she was not under oath when she made that video, so there is no contempt, it was a joke...

now court, apart from the "confession" when is not allowed to be submitted to the court, prove beyond reasonable doubt with OTHER proof and evidence that this is the person who robbed the bank...

It would be a clear miscarriage of justice if this video was allowed to be submitted as evidence in a criminal case.

If that was possible, if you made a vid that you got really drunk last Friday night and drove home, that would be sufficient grounds for charging you with DUI !!!..

The prosecutor and police would be VERY stupid if they decided to base their conviction of this person on the basis of this one video..

If they do not do their job, that is finding real proof that this person did what she said she did, (not under oath), then guilty or not, she will (and should) not be charged..

IF just talking about a crime is enough for you to be charged, then how many filesharers here would or could be charged because on Techdirt, the admitted that they have downloaded files that makes them in breach of the existing laws !!!

Masnick would go away for years, for 'promoting crimes and theft'.....
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2012 @ 9:41pm

Re:
in Australia it is simply illegal to take photo's of kids in schools, or schools in general, without specific permission and after being instructed in what you can and cannot photograph. You also have to pass a security check to make sure you have no prior convictions involving children.

I think it is fair enough to want to know why that creepy guy is lurking around schools with a camera !!
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G Thompson (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 10:55pm

IF just talking about a crime is enough for you to be charged, then how many filesharers here would or could be charged because on Techdirt, the admitted that they have downloaded files that makes them in breach of the existing laws !!!

None.... why? because Filesharing is NOT a criminal (ie: illegal) offence.

As for the rest of your comment, true though this does not mitigate the fact that the LEO's now have absolute probable cause to obtain a warrant, charge her, use her ex as a witness, show her SMS's to her ex (after the easy warrants obtained) and if they don't want to interview her... (which is probably the case here) her Miranda rights need not be read to her.

Yes a defence attorney/solicitor might be able to stop the viewing of the video in court.. Though that video could be used (and mostly is) as an admission for obtaining other more relevant and admissible evidence.

If it quacks like a duck, acts like a duck and all the evidence points to it having webbed feet, floating in water, having feathers, and belongs to the Anatidae species ... normally its a freakin duck.

well unless she's a witch
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G Thompson (profile), 5 Dec 2012 @ 10:57pm

Re:
crud! this is a reply to "Does not mean she actually did the crimes" by an AC.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Dec 2012 @ 2:24am

Re:
your right, and I should of said illegally uploading or downloading copyrighted material that they are not legally allowed to do in breach of copyright laws and statutes.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Dec 2012 @ 2:33am

Re:
I think if she actually did rob a bank and steal a car, then be brash enough to admit to those crime on youtube, then you probably would not be silly enough to keep physical evidence laying around, or the car parked on your drive.

I'm sure she would have the confidence to withstand a search, with knowledge that they will not find anything to 'pin her' to the crime.

If the prosecution is silly enough to take this to court only on the basis of this vid, I do not think they would manage a conviction.

as you know, "on the internet everyone tells the truth!"....
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Dec 2012 @ 4:04am

Re:
Agreed. But since we are here, we can at least know that the day is coming when the world will get what it deserves.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Dec 2012 @ 7:30am

Re: Re:
If they were smart they would charge her with perversion of justice, that way she is put in a no win situation, either she made false statements about a crime (perversion of justice) or she was telling the truth, and therefore guilty of her stated crimes.

either way they get a conviction.
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Arturo Uzdavinis, 16 Jul 2014 @ 5:42pm

It is amazing that in this day and age people still don't realize that social media reaches EVERYONE. Its funny how many criminals are basically convicting themselves using facebook, twitter, youtube, etc..The most amazing part is that she was smart enough to get away with robbing the bank long enough to make the video.
Arturo Uzdavinis
Tulane University
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