In September 2006, Scott pleaded guilty to two charges – ‘conspiracy to commit copyright infringement’ and ‘criminal copyright infringement’. For his ‘crime’, Scott was sentenced to 5 months in jail and 5 months home confinement but his release didn’t mean his life was back to normal.

After his release in 2007, Scott was fitted with a monitoring ankle bracelet which restricted his freedom, but the government hadn’t finished limiting his life. Scott had to have special software installed on his computer to monitor his online activities, but since it was Windows only, he had to give up his beloved Ubuntu.

In the months that followed, Scott publicly shared details via his blog of his struggle to come to terms with his severe treatment for uploading a single movie, which at times made pretty upsetting reading. Thankfully his nightmare is now coming to an end.

It has been around 3 weeks since Scott was taken off the US government’s monitor list, which means that he is no longer on probation. Scott says things have been pretty good since and he can now do things we all take for granted – like being able to use Ubuntu instead of Windows.

TorrentFreak caught up with Scott who said he was happy to send a message to his friends and readers here to mark his official freedom.

“I have officially been off probation since July 12th. What a great feeling to finally be free from the clutches of evil (or the federal government). It was actually a really easy time on probation. It was 2 years, dealing once a month with my probation officer… who was really a great person,” he told us.

For those of us who remember the exact time and date of the EliteTorrents raid, it seems like only yesterday, but so much has happened since and as Scott puts it, his freedom has been a long time coming.

“I haven’t had a clear head since May 25th, 2005. Over 4 years of what I would call the worst period of my life is over,” he recalls.

But in the end the release from the nightmare comes from Scott himself and he is certainly trying to make the best of things now.

“I have been focusing a lot of time on my family. We bought a house in November, while I was still on home confinement. I am working at a local college, dealing with ERP implementations, specifically Oracle, and I am still actively participating in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA,” he told TorrentFreak.

As if these things won’t keep Scott busy enough, he’s looking forward to a brighter future and a very special occasion.

“I will be hopefully starting back to school for my MBA in the spring. And I am getting married in May 2010. Aside from the economy, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Scott told us that he felt his story is probably no longer worthy of news, so he will take this opportunity to move back into the shadows to get on with his new lease of life.

“This will be the last time most of you hear from me – although there is sk0t.com. The good majority of you have been really supportive… so thank you all for caring, and for
those of you who didn’t care… thanks also.”

I’m sure that the readers will join us in wishing Scott all the best for the future and every happiness in his forthcoming marriage. Good luck Scott.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

One of those who came to grief was sk0t – aka Scott McCausland – who pleaded guilty – an admission which earned him 5 months in jail and 5 months home confinement. As part of the home punishment, Scott was required to wear an ankle bracelet which monitored his movements. Fitted on July 19th 2007, the bracelet enforced the terms of his release: Monday to Friday 08:30 to 21:00 he was free to do as he pleased. Weekends were more restrictive – freedom was allocated between 08:30 to 17:00. Freedom – proper freedom – was 5 long months away.

Eventually the day had arrived to remove the bracelet. Scott told TorrentFreak:

“On December 19th, I was allowed to, personally, remove my ankle monitor. After 5 months of curfews, and missed occasions, I am now allowed to partake in all the benefits this free world has to offer. After 5 months in prison, and another 5 months on home confinement, I have just one obstacle left: my 1.5 years years left of probation.”

After a couple of years of ruined festivities for Scott, things are really looking up for him now:

“This Christmas has been quite good to me. My first semester back at school is over, I am with my family, and I am off home confinement… the holidays are going well for me.”

Scott hasn’t been sitting around idly since his release. Aside from spending time with his family and friends and buying a new home, Scott went back to school, finished his first semester and got some pretty good grades, despite ‘taking it easy’ with his 4 chosen classes:

BA 243 (Business Ethics) – B
Phil 014 (Love & Sex) – B+
Phil 012 (Symbolic Logic) – A-
Econ 002 (Microeconomics) – B

It’s good to hear from Scott but a little sad that we don’t hear anything from the other guys who also went to jail who must be going through similar experiences. I’m sure that everyone in the BitTorrent community wishes them well, whatever they might be doing.

Final word from Scott: “Everyone have a Happy Holiday Season”

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

By pleading guilty to “conspiracy to commit copyright infringement” and “criminal copyright infringement”, he now faces up to a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

In a response to our previous article Scott links to this statement.

Dear Users/Geeks/Techies/All-In-Between,

This is Scott McCausland, yes, the one who just plead guilty to a BitTorrent case held on September 12, in Erie, PA.

The reason I am releasing this is because I am going to ask that anyone who feels the need, or, feels some type of desire to see me not spend the maximum of 5 years per count in prison, if you could please write a letter directed towards the judge on my behalf.

Please direct it towards: U.S. District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin.
Please send letters/notes to: freeme@sk0t.com

If you want to be heard in this matter please do so professionally and without ill-intent. I will not edit any of the letters (however I will read them first to make sure they wont hurt me in any way).

Please, do not let this become anything more than it has to be. Do not let me get made an ‘example’ of because of the popularity of Star Wars.

Thanks,

Scott McCausland
sk0t/MindHunter

Time for some action!

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.