Ben Megarry was today sentenced to a two year Probation Order and 70 hours Community Service Order after pleading guilty to a number of offences concerning bomb hoaxes and threats made to various individuals in the USA and other countries.
His solicitor, Michael Madden of Madden & Finucane, said:
“Ben and his mother would like to thank the Court for taking the time to fully consider all the relevant factors and to proactively seek clarification of the complex features of this case. The Court stressed that normally a lengthy custodial sentence would be passed for these types of offences however by taking into consideration Ben’s lowered culpability due to his youth, undiagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome, social immaturity and susceptibility to others, a non-custodial sentence is appropriate in this case. The Court’s judgement allows Ben to continue the significant improvements he has made since his diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome in 2014.
“Ben has expressed his genuine remorse to the Court and this case highlights the difficulties families and schools face in identifying young people who are on the autism spectrum. Professor Fitzgerald’s opinion is that this offending occurred entirely within the context of his Asperger’s Syndrome. The lesson to be learnt from this case is that early diagnosis of autism is paramount to enable proper support and intervention to be obtained in order to prevent any further heartbreak to other families and members of the public.”
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