Naughton looks set to escape prison

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
Former Infoseek executive Patrick Naughton probably won't be going to jail, despite his conviction on charges of travelling across state lines to have sex with a minor. Naughton, 35, who pleaded guilty in March, faces sentencing in federal court Wednesday in Los Angeles. Normally the charge carries a maximum of 15 years behind bars, but Naughton will get a lighter sentence because he's helping the police nab paedophiles who operate online. The government plans to ask that Naughton receive five years of probation and substantial restrictions on his contact with children and chat rooms. Naughton was arrested in September at the Santa Monica Pier after he arranged a rendezvous there with KrisLA, a person he met in the "dad&daughtersex" chat room who claimed to be a 13-year-old girl. KrisLA was really a male FBI agent posing as a pre-teen online. In a recent court filing, the US Attorney's office requested the lighter sentence "based on Patrick Naughton's substantial assistance to the government". Without the deal, he would have faced 12 to 18 months behind bars because he has no prior criminal record. If a judge approves the punishment, Naughton will receive five years probation, which includes a nine-month home detention, and he will have to pay a $20,000 fine. Naughton also will be restricted from unapproved contact with children and from visiting sexually oriented chat rooms. In addition, he must continue helping the FBI pursue online criminals. "This recommendation is based on the significance, usefulness, completeness, timeliness and nature and extent of Naughton's assistance to the government since he pled guilty," the filing states. The government is asking a judge to keep sealed another document that gives details of Naughton's assistance, saying that releasing it will "substantially impede the government's ability to locate and prosecute child sex offenders". Naughton's guilty plea came just days before he was to face a second trial. During Naughton's first trial, a jury couldn't decide on the travelling charge or another count accusing him of using a computer to set up the meeting. Throughout the trial, Naughton claimed he didn't believe KrisLA was really 13 years old, in part because "her" replies were often witty, and also because people often assume false identities on the Web. Nearly half of the jurors believed him. However, the jury declared Naughton guilty of possessing child porn. But that conviction was later overturned after an appeals court ruled in a separate case about what type of pictures could be considered child porn. Naughton spent a weekend in jail before he was released. Take me to the Web of Porn Special What do you think? Tell the Mailroom. And read what others have said.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

tinycg

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

2 hours ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move
TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

7 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

16 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

1 day ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

1 day ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

1 day ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

1 day ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 days ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material