'Anonymous' hacker too young and troubled to go to jail, judge says

Jake Birchall, 16 years old at the time of the offences and now 18, previously admitted to having taken part in a series of high-profile DDoS attacks on a range of companies between 1 August 2010 and 22 January 2011, the time of his arrest.

The judge at Southwark Crown Court in London, Peter Testar, sentenced Birchall to an 18-month youth rehabilitation order and 60-hours of unpaid community work, describing the youth on the basis of psychiatric pre-sentencing reports as "profoundly isolated."

"I have to sentence you with the fact that you were under 18 when convicted in mind," explained Judge Testar.

"There's a statement of special needs in your case. You have met the diagnosed criteria for certain conditions," he added without elaborating further.

The attacks were successful enough to have disrupted PayPal to the tune of £3.5 million, it was earlier alleged.