Gamer gets 15 months in ‘swatting’ case
An Ohio gamer upset about a $1.50 bet while playing “Call of Duty: WWII” online was sentenced Friday to 15 months in prison for recruiting a prankster to make a bogus emergency call that resulted in the fatal shooting of a Kansas man by police.
Casey Viner, 19, of North College Hill, Ohio, also is restricted from gaming activity for two years during the two years he will be on supervised release after his prison term, U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren said in announcing the sentence.
Viner pleaded guilty in April to felony charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice in the hope that he would not be sentenced to prison. Viner admitted trying to hide his involvement in the 2017 incident when he realized the antic had gotten someone killed.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers in their plea agreement had recommended a sentence of two years of probation, with the added condition that Viner be confined for six months to his home unless attending school, work or church.
But Judge Melgren said a prison sentence was required to reflect the seriousness of the offense. It was foreseeable that something bad could happen by calling an armed police force to respond to what police believed was an escalating situation of violence, he said.
The death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch in Wichita drew national attention to “swatting,” a form of retaliation in which someone reports a false emergency to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to descend on an address.
Liberty students protest
Students at Liberty University in Virginia gathered Friday to protest in the wake of news reports containing allegations that school President Jerry Falwell Jr. improperly benefited from the institution and disparaged students in emails.
Students joined together at the private evangelical university known for being an influential hub in conservative politics and held up signs calling for accountability and an investigation.
Elizabeth Brooks, a junior majoring in politics and policy, said recent articles by Politico Magazine and Reuters prompted the protest at the school in Lynchburg. She said about 35 students were involved.
The Politico story contained allegations that Mr. Falwell “presides over a culture of self-dealing” at Liberty that has improperly benefited him and his family.
Mr. Falwell said Tuesday that he wasn’t going to “dignify the lies that were reported” in the Politico piece, calling the reporter for the story a “little boy.”
Here comes Humberto
What’s expected to become Tropical Storm Humberto was upgraded to a tropical depression Friday evening and could reach tropical storm strength Saturday as it heads toward Florida, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. EDT update.
The depression, located near the already-battered Bahamas, is now moving at 8 mph. The latest track shifted farther east and has it off Florida’s coast Saturday.
The system has maximum sustained winds of 30 mph; if and when its sustained winds reach 39 mph, it will be named Tropical Storm Humberto.
Priest gets 30 years
A former Roman Catholic priest who authorities say fled the country in the early 1990s as he faced sex abuse allegations in New Mexico has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after being returned to the U.S.
A judge sentenced Arthur Perrault, 81, on Friday in Santa Fe, saying it was the worst case of child sex abuse she had handled over the course of 26 years.