By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
If there’s any place on earth that takes the illegal distribution of movies seriously, it’s the Los Angeles area.
Derek Hawthorne, 21, is learning that the hard way.
Hawthorne pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner in Los Angeles to two felony counts of illegally uploading copyrighted works. He was busted by the U.S. Secret Service.
Authorities charged that Hawthorne uploaded on the Internet for all to see “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Australia”, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The movies had been released in the theaters, but had yet to be released on DVD. Sentencing is set for Sept. 28.
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