Sven Jaschan was tried as a minor because he created Sasser when he was 17 years old. If tried as an adult, he could have faced up to five years in prison. Instead, he received a suspended sentence of one year and nine months and 30 hours of community service, to be served at a hospital or a retirement home.
It was Jaschan's first offence. The judge said he also took into account his immediate confession and his age.
Jaschan was caught after a tip-off from someone seeking a $250,000 bounty offered by Microsoft's Anti-Virus Reward Program. He is now working for an anti-virus software firm.
Alan Bentley, UK Managing Director of PatchLink Corporation commented:
"We can only hope that this sentence will be enough to deter other script-kiddies from distributing malicious code. The fact remains that young people testing out their computer skills in their bedrooms cost businesses thousands of pounds to restore their systems hit by viruses. The good news for businesses is that Microsoft is having success in tracking down and prosecuting the perpetrators of internet crime."
