Andover teen sentenced for making ‘swatting’ threats
An Andover teenager has been sentenced for making several “swatting” threats, or hoax threats made anonymously using the internet, state police said in a statement Wednesday.The 17-year-old juvenile male was sentenced to Department of Youth Services custody until he turns 21 on conspiracy and bomb threat charges after pleading guilty in October, according to the statement. Prosecutors had asked for a three- to five-year state prison sentence.In early April, several “swatting” phone calls were received in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Florida, prompting an investigation that led Massachusetts and Rhode Island state troopers, FBI and Homeland Security agents, and Andover police to search the teen’s residence for digital media.Police said they found an anonabox router, a device allowing users to connect anonymously to the internet, in the teen’s bedroom. During a forensic examination of multiple digital devices seized at the residence, authorities discovered evidence of online messaging between a group of hackers talking about bomb threats they had made, according to the statement.The investigation revealed the teen was the leader of a group of online hackers who used anonymous internet service providers to carry out bomb threats and “swatting” calls nationwide, according to police. When interviewed, the teen admitted to destroying evidence just before police executed the search warrant, police said.On April 15, the 17-year-old made “swatting” calls to Jordan’s IMAX theaters in Natick and Reading, according to the statement. He also made earlier “swatting” 911 calls to Florida, New York, and Rhode Island, as well as to Wilmington and Woburn residents, police said.Authorities said the teen was also aware of “swatting” threats received in over a dozen locations in Massachusetts and bomb threats made to locations in Little Falls, New York, and Spring Valley, New Jersey.
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