A MAN convicted in the United States' first felony prosecution for illegal spamming was sentenced to nine years in prison yesterday, but the Virginia judge postponed the sentence while the case is appealed. Judge Thomas Horne said that because the law targeting bulk e-mail distribution is new and raises constitutional questions, it was appropriate to defer the prison time until appeals courts rule.
Jeremy Jaynes of Raleigh, N.C., was convicted in November for using false Internet addresses to send mass e-mail ads through an AOL server in Loudoun, Va.
A jury had recommended the nine-year prison term.
Prosecutors said Jaynes used the Internet to peddle bogus products and services such as a "FedEx refund processor."
Virginia, where the AOL corporation is based, prosecuted the case under a law that took effect in 2003 barring people from sending bulk e-mail that is unsolicited and masks its origin.
Jaynes told the judge that regardless of how the appeal turns out, "I can guarantee the court I will not be involved in the e-mail marketing business again."
Lisa Hicks-Thomas, the prosecutor, said she was pleased with the ruling and confident that the law would be upheld on appeal.
Defence lawyer David Oblon argued that nine years was far too long given that Jaynes was charged as an out-of-state resident with violating a Virginia law that had taken effect just two weeks before.
The jury had also convicted Jaynes' sister, Jessica DeGroot, with a $7,500 fine.
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