Asperger's syndrome saved a Los Angeles hacker from a longer
prison sentence, it was reported today, bringing scant hope to
self-confessed British hackerGary McKinnon (pictured), who faces extradition to
the US on hacking charges.
Viachelav Berkovich, an illegal Russian immigrant and Asperger's
sufferer, received a 55-month sentence for his part in a
man-in-the-middle attack on a shipment trucking website, according
to a
report
in Wired.
This was five months less than the minimum recommended by the
probation office and prosecutors, and 23 months less than the
federal minimum. His co-defendant received 70 months for
masterminding the scheme.
"The court tried to make a fair sentence [It] gave us some of
what we asked for and did accept that Mr Berkovich suffered from
Asperger's, but at the same time felt that this was serious and
that a substantial prison sentence was called for to deter others,"
Kiana Sloan-Hillier, Berkovich's defence attorney, told Wired.
The decision brings scant hope to McKinnon, an Asperger's
sufferer. McKinnon recently lost his latest appeal against
extradition to the US, where he faces charges that he illegally
hacked into hundreds of NASA, Pentagon and federal computers in
2001 and 2002, causing damage worth $700,000.
However, an internal
assessment of the evidence available to the Crown Prosecution
Service suggested the US case would not succeed in British courts,
hence its decision not to prosecute McKinnon.
McKinnon faces up to 60 years in jail if convicted, but could
serve as few as six if his sentences ran concurrently.