CAMDEN — Bruce Raisley, a 48-year-old software programmer who unleashed a worldwide computer virus after he was tricked into leaving his wife by an on-line vigilante group, was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison.

Raisley was convicted last September of targeting and attacking a number of websites — including those of Rolling Stone, Radar, Nettica, Corrupted Justice and the Rick Ross Institute of New Jersey — with a virus that infected approximately 100,000 computers across the world.

The attack was apparently sparked after Raisley, of Kansas City, Mo., had a falling out with Perverted Justice, a high-profile group that worked with the Dateline: NBC television show "To Catch a Predator" to identify and apprehend pedophiles.

Federal prosecutors said Raisley, who volunteered for the organization, later became an outspoken critic of the group and its founder, Xavier Von Erck. In retaliation, Von Erck posed on-line as an adult woman named "Holly" and initiated an internet relationship with Raisley. The programmer fell for the sting, leaving his wife and showing up at an airport near his home with a bouquet of flowers for a woman who never showed up. Waiting for him, though, was a photographer sent by Von Erck, who distributed the photos and the racy e-mails that had been exchanged.

Radar Magazine published an article about the incident in September 2006 and Rolling Stone Magazine followed up with another story. Both articles were widely circulated on the internet.

Humilated, Raisley developed a "botnet," which was used to overwhelm the computers that hosted the websites and shut them down, prosecutors said. According to assistant U.S. attorney Erez Liebermann, those websites suffered damages in excess of $100,000 in lost revenues and mitigation.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler in Camden sentenced Raisley to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $90,386.34 in restitution.

Previous Coverage:

• Programmer is convicted of launching digital attack against websites that ran story of online tryst

• Computer evidence will vindicate programmer accused of attacking websites, lawyer says

• Trial begins for man accused of attacking websites that baited, humiliated him

• Long battle between online vigilante and Arkansas man will soon be decided in Camden court