Lizard Squad Member Admits to 23 Charges of Harassment and Swatting

A 17-year-old Canadian teen has pleaded guilty to 23 charges relating to online harassment.

The teenager, who cannot be named due to his age, appeared in court to face charges of public mischief, criminal harassment, and extortion.

According to Ars Technica, the teen has previously identified himself as a member of hacker group Lizard Squad. Many of the acts he perpetrated can be classed as swatting.

Canadian news outlet TC News reports prosecutor Michael Bauer described how he focused on young female gamers and their parents in British Colombia, Minnesota, Utah, Arizona, Ohio, and California.

The teen contacted online gamers, many of which were League of Legends players, by sending them friend requests. When they declined, he would shut down their Internet access, post their personal information online, and call them repeatedly late at night.

He would also contact the police in his victim's area and tell them he was holding a family hostage, had weapons, or had killed someone in the house.

Other activities include ordering SWAT teams to a location, demanding a ransom of $20,000, and threatening to kill law enforcement officers if they interfere.

In one particular case a young woman that had rejected him was forced to drop out from her semester at the University of Arizona as a result of anxiety caused by his relentless pursuits and threats.

He also called the Tuscon police to her home by claiming he had shot his parents with an AR15 rifle, was armed with explosive, and would kill the police if he saw marked vehicles.

The unidentified teen later bragged about the events on Twitter. He also streamed himself swatting and harassing victims on YouTube. Police responded when they were alerted by viewers of the stream.

The Judge has ordered a psychiatric assesment of the teen, who was charged with 40 crimes in total and remanded on Wednesday for 169 days. The sentencing will continue on June 29.

In March a 13-year-old boy that played Minecraft admitted to three instances of swatting, saying that "he felt he was wronged." In one of these cases, he threatened to blow up a house with hostages inside.