BEIJING, Jan. 31 -- "Blaster" worm creator was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison for his hacker works that

Jeffrey Lee Parson, 19, of Hopkins, Minnesota was sentenced Friday to 11/2 years in prison for unleashing a variant of the "Blaster" Internet worm that crippled 48,000 computers in 2003.

crippled 48,000 computers in 2003.

    Jeffrey Lee Parson, 19, of Hopkins, Minnesota, appearing in U.S. District Court in Seattle, will serve his time at a low-security prison.

    He was also ordered to perform community service, pay restitution and be placed under supervision for three years following the sentence.

    He had faced up to 10 years in prison, but the judge took pity on the teen, saying his neglectful parents were to blame for the psychological troubles that led to his actions.

    "If you use the Internet to harm people, it will be investigated and you will be punished," said Jeff Sullivan, chief of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's office in Seattle.

    Parson, who was brought in from his home in Hopkins, Minnesota, pleaded guilty to creating a variant of the worm, which infected computers in mid-2003 and targeted computers at Microsoft Corp.

    Parson's lawyers said he has made great strides since his arrest. They also credited him with making a Seattle School District video warning teens of the dangers of Internet vandalism.

    "(The Internet) has created a dark hole, a dungeon if you will, for people who have mental illnesses or people who are lonely," U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman said. "I didn't see any parent standing there saying, 'It's not a healthy thing to lock yourself in a room and create your own reality.'" Enditem

    (Agencies)