Earlier quoted context omitted.
It was overzealous prosecution of the breaking into a closet to wire up some ethernet cables to gain access to the materials Not the downloading with intent And apparently the most controversial take on this community is the observation that many people would have done the trial, plea and time, regardless of how overzealous the prosecution was
> breaking into a closet "The closet's door was kept unlocked, according to press reports" When's the last time a kid with no record, a research fellow at Harvard, got threatened with 35 years for a simple B&E?
Its the plea or sentencing where that stuff gets taken into account for a reduction to community service