Jail shut! The verdict was final, for a temporary worker from Le Mans thinking he had stolen only a few discs without much consequence, reported our colleagues from Ouest France last Friday.
The facts date back to the beginning of June. Employed for an interim mission at MPO France, a 43-year-old man stole a dozen unreleased albums by Taylor Swift, whose official release was scheduled for September 2023. Rich in his larceny, he intends to resell his loot online on the Bon Coin website. The man manages to sell two for 25 euros each and continues his trade while increasing the prices. However, a buyer to whom he makes an appointment works at MPO, in human resources. She identifies the thief and contacts the police.
At the Le Mans criminal court, Thursday, June 9, the defendant with a criminal record charged with 24 convictions, including theft, claimed great financial difficulties to explain his action. Be that as it may, for the prosecutor, what would seem petty theft could cause “an industrial and commercial disaster”, the defendant having taken the risk of “disseminating protected cultural content”, relays Ouest France. Two discs are indeed still in nature, in spite of the threat of the prosecutor towards the two purchasers of continuations for concealment. “If Universal terminates the contract tomorrow, our future is in jeopardy. There are jobs and millions of euros at stake”, underlines a representative of MPO, still quoted by the regional daily.
Despite the “unawareness” of the seriousness of his act pleaded by the defense lawyer, the recidivist thief was sentenced to six months in prison, to which were added two others under the revocation of a reprieve from a previous conviction.
