He faced a theoretical 120 years in jail. Even though that was unlikely he settled because, from the EFF statement:
> "David never should have been prosecuted in the first place, but we're glad that the state decided to stop," said Senior Staff Attorney Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "This is a very good result for David. He very likely could have won if the case had gone to trial, but trials cost money and you never know what will happen."
And this is what he got for settling:
> Under the terms of the deal, announced today, McOwen will receive one year of probation for each criminal count, to run concurrently, make restitution of $2100, and perform 80 hours of community service unrelated to computers or technology. McOwen will have no felony or misdemeanor record under Georgia's First Offender Act.
He faced a theoretical 120 years in jail. Even though that was unlikely he settled because, from the EFF statement:
> "David never should have been prosecuted in the first place, but we're glad that the state decided to stop," said Senior Staff Attorney Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "This is a very good result for David. He very likely could have won if the case had gone to trial, but trials cost money and you never know what will happen."
And this is what he got for settling:
> Under the terms of the deal, announced today, McOwen will receive one year of probation for each criminal count, to run concurrently, make restitution of $2100, and perform 80 hours of community service unrelated to computers or technology. McOwen will have no felony or misdemeanor record under Georgia's First Offender Act.