Incitement to commit computer misuse offence - small-scale manufacture and sale of cable television service devices - custodial sentence not required for offender of previous good characterR v Maxwell-King: CA (Mance LJ, Wright J and Judge Gibbon QC): 23 November 2000The defendant and his company, M Ltd, over a three-month period made and supplied 20 devices at 30 plus VAT each which, when connected to set-top boxes, enabled cable television subscribers to watch all channels regardless of the number paid for.The defendant pleaded guilty to incitement to commit an offence contrary to s.3 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and was sentenced to four months' imprisonment.

He appealed against sentence by certificate of the trial judge, contending that prison was inappropriate for a man of previous good character.Richard Kovalevsky (instructed by Irwin Mitchell, Sheffield) for the defendant.

Lynn Griffin (instructed by Richards Butler) for the Crown.Held, allowing the appeal, that although the defendant's actions were dishonest and a form of theft, his offending was not sufficiently large-scale to cross the threshold where a custodial sentence was required; that in view of his plea and his company being ordered to pay 10,000 towards prosecution costs with no criminal conviction, the appropriate sentence was a substantial fine or period of community service; and that, accordingly, the custodial sentence would quashed and 150 hours' community service substituted in order that the defendant's skills could be put to good use by way of reparation to the community.