Anonymous Participant Who Drew Attention To Steubenville Rape May Face More Years In Jail Than Rapists

from the that-doesn't-seem-right dept

As many of you know, one aspect of the infamous Steubenville rape case was that Anonymous drove a lot of attention to the case, and some participants hacked a website that was a "fan page" for the high school football team, which had two members convicted of the rape, and demanded apologies from those trying to cover up the story, and then leaked some video. That hack and demand actually helped generate significantly more media attention to the case. Now, however, one participant of Anonymous (they don't really have "members" since there's nothing to "join") who had helped publicize the case (though, he claims, did not hack the site) has revealed himself as Deric Lostutter, after a SWAT team raided his house, and he may be facing significantly more time in jail than the rapists.

If convicted of hacking-related crimes, Lostutter could face up to 10 years behind bars—far more than the one- and two-year sentences doled out to the Steubenville rapists. Defending himself could end up costing a fortune—he's soliciting donations here. Still, he thinks getting involved was worth it. "I'd do it again," he says.

Once again, as if it needs to be repeated, the CFAA is completely broken.

Separately, the raid of his house seems like yet another extreme overreaction:

At first, he thought the FBI agent at the door was with FedEx. "As I open the door to greet the driver, approximately 12 FBI SWAT team agents jumped out of the truck, screaming for me to 'Get the fuck down!' with M-16 assault rifles and full riot gear, armed, safety off, pointed directly at my head," Lostutter wrote today on his blog. "I was handcuffed and detained outside while they cleared my house."

If you read his full blog post, there are many more descriptions of overreaction from law enforcement (reposted without correcting his typos or grammatical errors):

I was detained on the back patio, I asked if I was going to jail, they said no, they said who are you, I responded KYAnonymous. They asked me a few questions, asked me for my passwords for my account, stated that I could not tell anyone I was raided or I would face additional charges such as "destroying/tampering with evidence". They pulled out ALLEGED emails between me and @justbatcat aka Noah McHugh from Noah's inbox indicating that someone is trying to "sell me down the river". They stated they had been watching me for a long time, prior to Jim Parks, and that I was a good guy, and even joked around a bit about the good things I have done, none the less, sincere or not, They are the FBI and to them I am Anonymous, the embodiment of a dangerous threat according to their m16 assault rifles aimed at me for a computer.

Before they departed, I asked them for names and badge numbers of each involved. I got none of them as I requested and subsequently it took me the better part of a month just to get a phone call returned for the status of my belongings let alone tracking down my case agent to columbus ohio.  I asked Agent Bixby (who in all fairness seems to be fighting for me and believes I am a good guy) the status of my belongings and they had no time table, as of this post they are still with the FBI being analyzed. I was emailed their intent to send out a "Target Letter" which means they are going to try to indict me for a Federal Offense, (most likely a felony and two misdemeanors) to a secret Grand Jury of 23 individuals, for which I can not be present to state my side, nor state my innocence.

So now the FBI is creating chilling effects for those who are seeking to expose and shame those trying to cover up the rape of a minor?

Filed Under: anonymous, cfaa, deric lostutter, hacking, rape, steubenville