British teen who took part in terror hoaxes ‘partly for own amusement’ avoids prison

A BRITISH teenager who joined an online gang called The Goon Squad and carried out a “terrifying” series of hoaxes across the US has been spared jail.

Connor Ash (18) created terror by sending emails from his father’s home, claiming to be heavily armed and holding hostages, and even that he was about to attack a police station, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

He later admitted targeting schools at pupils’ request to get them shut down so they could get out of lessons.

Ash, who was 16 at the time of the offences, admitted three counts of making an electronic communication with intent to cause distress and anxiety and one of making threats to kill.

The defendant, from Stanley in Co Durham, was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, following a hearing at Durham Crown Court.

He worked with others in The Goon Squad to carry out a campaign of hoaxes in 2017.

Ash claimed to be armed with an assault rifle and holding hostages, who he claimed he would kill if police did not meet his demands for money.

He also claimed in one email to be approaching a police station, heavily armed, with the intention of killing officers.

The gang’s hoaxes targeted places where large numbers of people were gathered, including schools and an airport.

In police interviews, Ash claimed that some pupils had encouraged him online to target their own schools simply to get them out of lessons.

He also helped to arrange ‘swatting’ attacks, in which heavily armed police were directed with false information to the homes of innocent people.

Diane Spence, from the CPS, said: “From behind a computer in his father’s home, Connor Ash made serious threats to US police departments between February and October of 2017. Amid a wave of gun violence in the US, these threats were seen as both serious and credible by law enforcement agencies.

“He committed these offences, at least in part, for his own amusement, and showed little regard for the terrifying consequences his actions would create.

“One parent described hearing about a potential attack on their child’s school and being so afraid that she drove to the school in tears to find her child.

“In one chilling email, sent in March of 2017, he also contacted a US detective who was investigating his offending, threatening to kill the detective and his family.

“I sincerely hope that this case serves as an ample demonstration that, where digital communications are exploited for criminal purposes, the trail that you leave will inevitably lead the criminal justice system to your front door.”

Ash was given a curfew and 300 hours’ unpaid work.