SEATTLE -- A federal judge in Seattle blamed the parents of Minnesota teen when she sentenced him to a year-and-a-half in prison for releasing a computer virus.
Judge Marsha Pechman gave 19-year-old Jeffrey Lee Parson a sentence on the low end of the recommended range.
The judge said the Internet created "a dark hole" for lonely people or people who have mental illnesses.
At Friday's sentencing, the judge said, "I didn't see any parent standing there saying, 'It's not a healthy thing to lock yourself in a room and create your own reality.'"
Parson pleaded guilty in August to intentionally causing computer damage. His version of the Blaster virus in the summer of 2003 crippled nearly 50,000 computers and attacked a Microsoft Web site.
Parson apologized to the court and to Microsoft. A hearing on restitution is set for Feb. 10 in Seattle.
He has made a video for the Seattle School District warning teens of the dangers of Internet vandalism.
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