A 58-year-old Scottish grandmother has been sentenced to three years probation for offering up music files via an unnamed Direct Connect hub.
Anne Muir, who pleaded guilty to a single charge of criminal file-sharing, will also be forced to attend compulsory cognitive therapy sessions.
The 58-year-old – who originally faced 10 criminal charges – supposedly amassed 7,493 music files and 24,243 karaoke songs.
According to court documents, Muir claims she suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a condition which causes her to hoard gigabytes of music.
“Alarmingly, this was not a commercial enterprise and Muir was not alleged to have made any money from these offenses,” David Cook from Burrows Bussin Solicitors told TorrentFreak.
“She must be considered to have minimal culpability compared to others in the file-sharing chain. Yet again, the industry have chosen to pursue someone remarkable only by virtue of their vulnerability.”
Although the Ayr Court Sheriff defended the sentence, it did conceed that “Ms. Muir did not make any money. What she did was not commercial…She is a first offender so imprisonment would not be beneficial.”
