14 DAY TRIAL // Matthew Flannery, a 24-year-old from Point Clare, Australia, known on the hacking scene as Aush0k, is expected to apply to have all hacking charges against him dismissed.
The Newcastle Herald reported that Flannery could make the application in May. The decision comes after prosecutors have reviewed their position.
After initially naming him a “considerable risk to society,” now, prosecutors have not only downgraded the case to local court, but they’ve also agreed to change Flannery’s bail conditions, modify the charges and sought a number of adjournments.
After his arrest in April 2013, Flannery was charged with two counts of unauthorized modification of data to cause impairment, and one count of unauthorized access to, or modification of, restricted data. Authorities said he hacked and defaced the website of the Narrabri Shire Council.
However, his lawyer, Manny Conditsis, told The Newcastle Herald that questions about the case against Flannery were raised shortly after he was charged.
“Given the guns blazing attitude the police and prosecution had when he was first charged, we’re now down to a handful of matters, and the prosecution has decided the appropriate jurisdiction is the local court rather than the district court,” Conditsis noted.
“It’s a travesty, and it’s taken nearly a year to get to this point. We needed time to get our own forensic report but the defence proposes to make an application to the Commonwealth DPP to have the charges withdrawn and dismissed,” he added.
After his arrest, Flannery was named a “self-proclaimed leader of LulzSec,” but most hacktivists disagreed with the description, some claiming that the 24-year-old was set up.