Anonymous Hacker Who Outed Steubenville Rapists Facing Longer Jail Time Than Actual Rapists
Deric Lostutter, the hacker who exposed the Steubenville rapists, may end up facing more jail time than the rapists themselves.
In the Steubenville rape case, Deric Lostutter was the hacker who lead the Anonymous Op that exposed the suspects’ tweets, videos and Instagram photos that revealed them bragging about the incident, which ended up being crucial pieces of evidence in the case against them.
As a “thank you,” Lostutter could face up to 10 years behind bars for his connections to the Internet hactivist collective known as Anonymous.
Mother Jones reports that the FBI quietly raided Lostutter’s home over his connection to the Steubenville rape case. Known as “KYAnonymous” online, Lostutter spoke about the raid, his true identity and his motives for the first time in an exclusive interview.
“The goal of the media interviews is to get the entire nation to say ‘f*ck you’ to these guys,” he said.
Among the items collected in the FBI raid were Lostutter’s computers and XBox.
The 26-year-old corporate cybersecurity consultant arguably deserves the credit for exposing the Steubenville rape case to the nation, after he obtained and published tweets and Instagram photos showing students joking about the rape of a 16-year-old girl and belittling her. They were convicted in March.
Lostutter didn’t get involved in the case until he was contacted on Twitter by Michelle McKee, a friend of an Ohio blogger who sent him the tweets and Instagram photos.
“I was always raised to stick up for people who are getting bullied,” he said of choosing to publish the incriminating evidence.
Lostutter says that he wasn’t involved in any sort of hacking, having simply published freely-available information from social media accounts given to him. Another Anonymous hacker took credit for hacking the team’s Facebook page.
Whether or not he actually did anything illegal, Lostutter was investigated primarily for his ties to the hacker group, though he believes that Steubenville authorities organized the raid.
“They want to make an example of me, saying, ‘You don’t f*cking come after us. Don’t question us.”
Steubenville officials have been questioned by other media publications that speculate a cover-up was involved.
If he’s convicted, Lostutter could face up to 10 years behind bars, far more than the one- and two-year sentences handed down to the Steubenville rapists. He’s currently collecting donations for his defense here, and other Anonymous hackers are spreading the word on Twitter with hashtags like #opFreeKY and #SupportKY.
RT Drop the investigation against Deric Lostutter aka KYAnonymous. wh.gov/lloM5 #SupportKY Help the one that helped Jane Doe
— ?Nattie? (@NattieAnon) June 6, 2013
I donated! | Whistleblower Defense League is collecting donations for Deric Lostutter / KY Anonymous Defense Fund! wepay.com/xxdfqn
— John DeRosa (@johnderosa) June 7, 2013
Regardless of his legal troubles, Lostutter has no regrets. “I’d do it again,” he said.
What do you think should happen to Deric Lostutter, the hacker who exposed the Steubenville rape case? You might have negative opinions about Anonymous, but would we have ever known about this case if it weren’t for Lostutter? Should he really receive a longer sentence than the rapists themselves? Sound off!
