Cut-and-paste error apparently reveals federal charges against Assange

Julian Assange, at center. (credit: acidpolly)

Federal prosecutors have accidentally revealed that criminal charges have been filed against "Assange"-an apparent reference to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The feds filed the revealing document back in August, but the slip-up wasn't noticed until it was flagged in a Thursday evening tweet.

The filing was in an unrelated sex crimes case in the Eastern District of Virginia. Federal prosecutors asked the court to seal its criminal complaint and arrest warrant against a man named Seitu Sulayman Kokayi-for "coercion and enticement of a juvenile to engage in unlawful sexual activity"-to avoid tipping the suspect off. But in two places, the document refers to "Assange" instead of the actual defendant in the case.

The document argues that the case should be sealed because, "due to the sophistication of the defendant and the publicity surrounding the case, no other procedure is likely to keep confidential the fact that Assange has been charged."

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