Jake Birchall, 16 years old at the time of the offenses and now 18, previously admitted to having taken part in a series of high-profile DDoS attacks on a range of companies between August 2010 and January 2011, the time of his arrest.
"I have to sentence you with the fact that you were under 18 when convicted in mind," explained Judge Testar. "There's a statement of special needs in your case. You have met the diagnosed criteria for certain conditions," he added, without elaborating further.
The attacks were successful enough to have disrupted PayPal to the tune of £3.5 million (US$5.6 million), it was earlier alleged.
"You played a prominent role in this serious case. Nobody knows quite how much damage was caused, which potentially could have caused a lot more damage," Judge Testar said.
Last week, two of Birchall's informal accomplices in the same 'Anonymous' group attacks, Christopher Weatherhead, 22, and Ashley Rhodes, 28, were sentenced to 18 months and six months in prison, respectively.
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