DHAKA: Ross Ulbricht, the convicted founder of Silk Road, has been sentenced to life in prison for running the underground online drug bazaar, signaling the government’s seriousness in combating Internet crimes, reports Washington Post.
The punishment is a heavy price to pay for the 31-year-old, who had pleaded with the judge to spare him his old age and “leave a small light at the end of the tunnel.”
The sentence by U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest on Saturday followed an emotional three-hour hearing. Judge Forrest said she spent more than 100 hours grappling with the sentence, calling the decision “very, very difficult.”
But ultimately she gave Ulbricht the harshest punishment allowed under the law, saying Silk Road was “an assault on the public health of our communities” by making it easy for people around the world to buy illegal drugs. In a passionate speech, she detailed the ways drug addiction can tear families apart.
“What you did with Silk Road was terribly destructive to our social fabric,” said Judge Forrest, who also ordered Ulbricht to forfeit about $183 million.
Ulbricht took the stand at the sentencing, crying as he asked the judge to give him a second chance. He said he didn’t create Silk Road out of greed and vanity, as the government contested, but because he wanted to “empower people to make choices” in their own lives with privacy and anonymity.
“I’m not the man I was when I created Silk Road,” he said. “I wish I could go back and convince myself to take a different path, but I can’t do that.”
Ulbricht faced a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison, but federal prosecutors asked the judge to give him substantially more than that, arguing a harsh sentence was needed to deter others from following in Ulbricht’s footsteps.
Judge Forrest said Ulbricht was “no better a person than any other drug dealer” and that his education and privileged upbringing didn’t put him above the law. To justify her sentence, she read evidence presented during Ulbricht’s trial, including online messages where he allegedly joked about a drug addict who was unable to contain his addiction because of Silk Road.
Ulbricht isn’t the typical drug kingpin. He was an Eagle Scout and grew up in a close-knit family in Austin, Texas, according to his lawyer. He studied physics at the University of Texas in Dallas on a full scholarship and completed a master’s degree in material sciences at Penn State University.
The government also accused Ulbricht of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for the murders of at least five people who threatened his criminal enterprise. Although there is no evidence the murders were actually carried out, Judge Forrest said she took them into consideration for the sentencing.
BDST: 1435 HRS, MAY 31, 2015
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