http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 168112.ece

 

 

 

It could be a long time before Omar Khan goes to college: as long as 38 years, according to Orange County prosecutors, who have arrested and charged the 18-year-old student with breaking into his prestigious high school and hacking into computers to change his test grades from Fs to As.

 

 

 

If convicted on all 69 counts, including altering and stealing public records, computer fraud, burglary, identity theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy, Mr Khan could spend almost four decades in prison.

 

 

 

He is currently being held on $50,000 (£25,500) bail and is scheduled to appear in court today.

 

 

 

Mr Khans defence lawyer, Carol Lavacol, described her client as a really nice kid and said: Theres a lot more going on than meets the eye.

 

 

 

Prosecutors claim that between January and May, Mr Khan, who lives in Coto de Caza, one of Orange Countys oldest and most expensive gated communities, repeatedly broke into Tesoro High School, which was made famous by the reality TV series Real Housewives of Orange County.

 

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In an alleged plot that resembles the script to the 1986 high school comedy Ferris Buellers Day Off, prosecutors claim that he then used teachers passwords to hack into computers and change his test scores. In at least one test, an English exam, Mr Khan had been given an F grade because he was caught cheating.

 

 

 

Prosecutors claim that the teenager, who is alleged to have broken into the school late at night with a stolen master key, also changed the grades of 12 other students, and that he installed spyware on school hard drives that allowed him to access the computers from remote locations.

 

 

 

Tesoro High has 2,800 pupils and often appears in Newsweek magazines annual list of best high schools.

 

 

 

Mr Khans plan, the prosecution argues, was to get a place at one of the colleges within the University of California system. After his application was rejected, he requested copies of his student records, known as transcripts in the US educational system, so he could appeal. But when teachers looked at his files and noticed all the A grades that had magically appeared next to all the courses he had taken they realised something was wrong.

 

 

 

School administrators alerted law enforcement after noticing a discrepancy in Mr Khans grades, the Orange County District Attorneys office said. Subsequent investigation revealed that Mr Khan was in possession of original tests, test questions and answers, and copies of his altered grades. Khan is accused of stealing master copies of tests, some of which were e-mailed to dozens of students.

 

 

 

The case has once again raised the question of whether technology, in particular mobile phones that can access the internet, has resulted in an epidemic of cheating in the high-school system. The Orange County Register, a local newspaper, asked its readers yesterday to respond to a poll asking if technology is giving [students] an advantage, or whether it is just the same stuff using new tools.

 

 

 

Another student, Tanvir Singh, also 18, is accused of conspiring with Mr Khan and faces up to three years in prison. The pair allegedly exchanged text messages last month while organising a break-in.

 

 

 

Jim Amormino, of the local sheriffs department, said that he was astonished by the sophistication of the scheme, especially given the age of the defendants. I think they [now] wish they would have put their talents into studying, he said.

 

I think he would of gotten a lesser punishment if he had held the teachers at gunpoint.

 

 

 

What do you think?

Thats what you get when you hack something. He should know already that its very bad to hack. #-o

38 years seems a little harsh to me, true hacking is bad and he did a few other things, but you would get less years for a genocide charge.

if he's a hacker, then no sympathy.

38 years is a bit over the top, and especially for a teenager.

 

To be honest, he was already punishing himself by cheating and hacking. Even if it weren't for the 38 years, he probably wouldn't have gotten far in life. (Though perhaps he would have planned an extremely intricate robbery... :? )

 

However, since he was messing with other people's grades...Eh.

if he's a hacker, then no sympathy.

 

 

 

But 38 years... If he is in 12th grade and he is 17 years old. 38 years would make him 55.

I say good for him, he did the crime now the little punk has to do the time.

Wow. It's one thing to change your grades but [bleep]ing with other's grades was crossing the line.

1. He's a kid.

 

2. He didn't murder anyone.

I say good for him, he did the crime now the little punk has to do the time.

 

 

 

Rwandan ex-president's kin handed 20 years for genocide - Yahoo! News

 

Thu Dec 18 2008, 4:39 am ET

 

ARUSHA, Tanzania (AFP) The UN war crimes court for Rwanda on Thursday sentenced the brother-in-law of former president Juvenal Habyarimana to 20 years in prison for genocide and extermination.

 

 

 

Protais Zigiranyirazo was convicted of "aiding and encouraging" the killing of some 1,500 Tutsis on April 8, 1994 in northern Rwanda and 10 to 20 others near his home in the capital Kigali.

 

 

 

Because altering computer files and school grades warrants double the penalty planning the murder of thousands of civilians gets you. Sometimes the american justice system seems like a total failure.

 

 

 

What the kid did was morally questionable at best, in Europe he'd probably gotten off on misdemeanor/community service and maybe 1 year in jail maximum.

 

 

 

38 years is so grossly inappropriate punishment compared to the crime it's laughable. 38 years is more than twice the time he has even been alive on this planet & he harmed nobody physically or caused significant damage.

I thought it was pretty funny.

 

 

 

38 years sounds more like he hacked into the FBI's systems...

Sometimes the american justice system seems like a total failure.

 

 

 

Well, at least it's somewhat better than the witch-hunting days. :lol: I still think it's crap though. OJ Simpson...

He obviously wont get 38 years, that's just the most they can charge him with. Considering his motive was to go to college it will also lead to a lesser sentence, he was breaking to law to gain something good, not bad.

 

 

 

My guess is quite a steep fine for his age and at most no more than 6 months in jail. The fact that he did all this so he could attend further education will have quite an impact on his sentencing if it's a reasonable judge.

He obviously wont get 38 years, that's just the most they can charge him with. Considering his motive was to go to college it will also lead to a lesser sentence, he was breaking to law to gain something good, not bad.

 

 

 

My guess is quite a steep fine for his age and at most no more than 6 months in jail. The fact that he did all this so he could attend further education will have quite an impact on his sentencing if it's a reasonable judge.

 

 

 

Well, it's unlikely he will be convicted on all 69 counts, because due to his young age he can probably get a pretty good plea bargain & the prosecutor wont pursue conviction for "misdemeanor breaking and entering" and other smaller counts, and drop burglary etc. altogether since nothing physical was actually stolen

If this is a public school (which it is) then its altering the governments property so he might not get 38 years but he will probably get a lot.

It might be harsh to him, but this should make an example for anyone considering to hack in the future.

It might be harsh to him, but this should make an example for anyone considering to hack in the future.

 

 

 

Yeah. If they have a problem with their grades, the precedent would encourage them to threaten their teachers with guns instead.

This is like that full house episode where the little girl wrote a line on her "F" to make an "A". Except Uncle Jessie didn't sent her to prison for 38 years.

If he worked hard, he wouldn't of needed to change them. I love his lawyer though:

 

 

 

Mr Khans defence lawyer, Carol Lavacol, described her client as a really nice kid and said: Theres a lot more going on than meets the eye.

 

 

 

But 38 years?

Mr Khans defence lawyer, Carol Lavacol, described her client as a really nice kid and said: Theres a lot more going on than meets the eye.

 

 

 

He's not gonna lose with Optimus Prime as his lawyer

This is like that full house episode where the little girl wrote a line on her "F" to make an "A". Except Uncle Jessie didn't sent her to prison for 38 years.

I saw that one but I hate that show.

Gets what he deserves :D

38 years is excessive. Maybe a few months, and a small fine, but nothing was harmed. The fact that genocide charges get less is outright ridiculous. They won't force the full 38 years on him, so yeah, the American justice system fails.

38 years is awful harsh. Im sure the school switched everything back to normal so it couldnt have been that bad. so 38 years is over the top 2 at max.

38 Years is far too much. I think 5 years would be more close to the mark. Or atleast let him get a job at the FBI to catch hackers?

 

It worked for that guy in the movie "catch me if you can"....