Posted by Virus Bulletin on Jan 26, 2005
Maximum sentence sought for Jeffrey Lee Parson
Jeffrey Lee Parson, the Minnesota teenager who pleaded guilty to distributing the B variant of the Blaster worm, is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday. Prosecutors say he should be sentenced to 37 months in prison - the maximum sentence under a plea bargain that suggested a sentence of between 18 and 37 months.
Blaster.B is estimated to have infected 48,000 computers and caused more than $1 million in damage.
In their sentencing memorandum, prosecuting US Attorney John McKay and Assistant US Attorney Annette L. Hayes wrote: 'Parson's worm was not an aberrant moment in a young person's life, but instead was just the latest in a string of escalating efforts by Parson to take over other people's computers, destroy their websites, and otherwise use his computer skills for his own selfish amusement, personal gain and/or to harm others.'
Predictably, the defending attorneys suggested a much shorter prison sentence, recommending six months imprisonment with three years supervised probation.
However, the prosecutors said that if the judge were to follow the lighter sentencing recommendation of Parson's attorneys, the plea agreement would be withdrawn and Parsons would be required to stand trial.
Judge Marsha J. Pechman will decide on the sentence this Friday.
Posted on 26 January 2005 by Virus Bulletin
