He wanted to hear Prime Suspect's sentence because, under the rules of
parity sentencing, Mendax's own sentence would have to be similar to
that of his fellow hackers. However, Prime Suspect might get some
dispensation for having helped the prosecution.
A handful of Prime Suspect's friends--none of them from the computer
underground--trickled in. The hacker's mother chatted nervously with
them.
Court was called into session and everyone settled into their seats.
The first case, it turned out, was not Prime Suspect's. A tall,
silver-haired man in his mid-fifties, with eyes so blue they were
almost demonic, stepped into the dock. As the reporters began taking
notes, Prime Suspect tried to imagine what crime the polished,
well-dressed man had committed.
Child molesting.
The man had not just molested children, he had molested
his own son. In the parents' bedroom. Repeatedly. On Easter Sunday.
His son was less than ten years old at the time. The whole family had
collapsed. Psychologically scarred, his son had been too traumatised
even to give a victim impact statement.
For all of this, Judge Russell Lewis told the court, the man had shown
no remorse.
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