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Boy charged in Ashton Kutcher celeb-swatting hoax

Posted at 12:24 PM, Feb 08, 2013
and last updated 2013-02-08 12:24:35-05

By Kennedy Ryan

Los Angeles (KTLA) — A 12-year old boy was charged Thursday with making a false emergency call that sent police swarming to the home of actor Ashton Kutcher in a “swatting” prank.

The unidentified boy is scheduled to be arraigned in a juvenile court in Los Angeles on Friday.

The boy was arrested in December in connection with a series of prank calls that reported violence at the homes of celebrities — a practice called “swatting.”

In one such incident on October 3, police received a 911 call reporting there were guns and explosives inside Kutcher’s home, and that several people had been shot.

The call turned out to be a hoax, filed by somebody who hacked into a police computer system.

The boy has been charged with two felony counts each of making false bomb threats and computer intrusion in connection with the October 3 emergency call involving Kutcher and a similar call on October 10 that sent police to a Wells Fargo Bank.