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Matt DeHart, the former U.S. airman and Anonymous hacktivist who made a failed asylum bid in Canada — claiming torture over his access to secret U.S. government documents — has accepted a plea deal in a Tennessee court, avoiding a possible 70-year prison term but admitting to having explicit photos of under-aged teenagers.

DeHart, 30, long claimed wrongful prosecution, accusing the U.S. government of using child pornography as a ruse to probe his activist activities.

His plea sees him accepting a seven-and-a-half year sentence on reduced charges and for fleeing to Canada before his trial. He will also be credited with time served pending trial.

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“It’s the difference between him getting out [of prison] as a young man or him getting out as a middle-aged man or an old man. It’s an extremely rational choice,” said Tor Ekeland, DeHart’s New York-based lawyer.

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“Looking at the fact there’s a 93 per cent conviction rate in federal criminal trials, we looked at a deal,” said Ekeland. “So he can be out in four-and-a-half years as opposed to 70 years.”