Computer design technician selling cheap TV access avoids jail term

Accused sold android boxes to 150 customers and then charged them €12 a month to get activation codes

The judge referred the case to the probation service to see if Paul O’Brien was suitable for community service, ordering 240 hours of community service in lieu of two years' imprisonment. Picture: iStock

A computer design technician who sold android boxes allowing cheap access to thousands of TV channels has avoided a jail term for intellectual property theft.

Paul O’Brien, aged 38, of Raheen Close in Tallaght, pleaded guilty to three sample counts of copyright infringements involving the possession and sale of so-called “protection-defeating devices” on dates between June 2016 and December 2017.