UK jails man for hacking Facebook account

LONDON – Police say a 21-year-old British man has been sentenced to a year in jail for hacking into the Facebook account of someone in the U.S.

Scotland Yard said Wednesday that Gareth Crosskey had hacked into a private individual's Facebook account on Jan. 12, 2011. It said the breach was reported to the FBI, which traced the source of the hack to the U.K. and Scotland Yard's e-Crime unit tracked down the suspect.

It said Crosskey earlier had pleaded guilty to two offenses under Britain's Computer Misuse Act and was sentenced Wednesday at London's Southwark Crown Court to 12 months in jail.

Police had arrested Crosskey at his home in July 2011, at which point they seized computers and storage devices.

The U.S. victim was not identified.