LONDON (AA) – A British court ruled Friday an autistic man suspected of hacking U.S. government computers can be extradited to face trial.
Lauri Love, who has Asperger syndrome, is accused of stealing vast amounts of data from the FBI, NASA and the Federal Reserve, among other agencies.
The 31-year-old had been fighting to block his extradition and stand trial in the U.K. because he could face a sentence of up to 99 years if found guilty in the United States. He also argued he would suffer a mental breakdown if sent away from his home country.
But a judge in a central London court said on Friday that Love can be extradited because the charges against him were extremely serious and the “very strong counter-balancing factors” needed to oppose extradition did not exist.
Medical facilities in the United States could comprehensively meet the needs of someone facing the physical and mental health issues suffered by Love, the judge added.
His case will now be sent to U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who has until Nov. 15 to decide whether to overturn the ruling.
Love is wanted in three U.S. jurisdictions – New Jersey, New York and Virginia – on multiple charges of hacking government servers in 2012 and 2013.
An indictment filed in a U.S. court in 2013 describes him as “a sophisticated and prolific computer hacker who specialized in gaining access to the computer networks of large organizations, including government agencies, collecting personally identifiable information”.
Servers belonging to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and Environmental Protection Agency were also hacked, prosecutors allege.
Love’s case has drawn comparisons to Gary McKinnon, another British hacker wanted in the United States. Following a legal battle lasting 10 years, then-U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May blocked a U.S. request to extradite him in 2012.
