September 16, 2005

Paris Hilton Hacker Sentenced To 11 Months In Juvenile Facility

By Chris Harris (MTV.com)

The hacker who accessed actress and aspiring pop star Paris Hilton's cell phone contents has been sentenced to an 11-month term in a juvenile facility.

In Boston's U.S. District Court last week, the unidentified Massachusetts teen pleaded guilty to nine counts of juvenile delinquency, including hacking into Internet and telephone service providers and theft of personal information, The Associated Press reports.

The 17-year-old boy -- whose identity has not been revealed because he is a minor -- hacked into Hilton's T-Mobile Sidekick earlier this year and leaked its contents -- including personal notes, various celebrities' phone numbers and revealing photos of the blond hotel heiress -- across the web.

Several Hollywood stars, musicians and professional athletes -- including Lindsay Lohan, Ashley Olsen, the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie, Christina Aguilera, Ashlee Simpson, Eminem and tennis pro Andy Roddick -- were bombarded with calls after Hilton's detailed list of contacts was published online. Many later changed their phone numbers.

According to the AP, the hacker was also charged with making bomb threats to high schools in Florida and Massachusetts. Prosecutors claim a bomb threat the teenager e-mailed to a Florida school more than two years ago forced that school's administration to close the building down for two days to investigate what was eventually determined to be a hoax. This spring, he e-mailed a similar threat to a school in Massachusetts.

In January, the teenager hacked into T-Mobile's server and perused its customers' account information, the AP reports. As part of his sentence, the teen has been barred from owning or using a computer, cell phone or any other Internet-ready equipment for a three-year period.