Tsunami hoax e-mailer jailed
Date: January 25, 2005Source: This Is Local London
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A hoax e-mailer who told people their missing loved ones died in the tsunami disaster has been jailed for six months.
Christopher Pierson, 40, was seized in his home in Ruskington, Lincolnshire, just a day after the Met's Computer Crime Unit started to investigate the e-mails.
He was sentenced in the Bow Street Magistrates Court today after pleading guilty to communicating "grossly offensive content" with "the purpose of causing distress and anxiety".
The court heard how he sent 35 messages to people who placed appeals for relatives on the Sky News website.
The e-mails were sent from the bogus e-mail address [email protected], supposedly from the "Foreign Office Bureau" in Thailand. Each stated that the missing person had been confirmed dead.
Ch Supt Dick Quinn said: "This case should serve as a strong deterrent to anyone thinking of sending similar hoax messages.
"We treat crimes of this nature very seriously."
Pierson was also charged with obtaining a computer by deception.
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| 2005-09-02 06:22:08 - Very nice blog. Gergana |
| 2005-02-15 15:12:10 - rightly done. shlud have been dealt with... ashish |
| 2005-01-26 10:56:39 - What was the point? Why are some people... Cat |
| Total 3 comments |
