Jake Davis, allegedly known online as 'Topiary', released on bail after being charged with five offences

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Jake Davis, an 18-year-old from the Shetland Islands, was released on bail on Monday after being charged with five offences relating to computer attacks and break-ins by the LulzSec and Anonymous hacking groups earlier this year.

Davis, wearing a black T-shirt under a blue denim shirt and holding a copy of a book called Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science, showed little reaction as the charges were read out at the City of Westminster magistrates' court in London.

Davis was granted bail to stay with his mother Jenni, a social worker, in Lincolnshire, on condition that he does not access the internet either directly or through anyone else. He also has to wear a tag to ensure a 10pm to 7am curfew.

Davis – who police believe used the online nickname "Topiary" as an alleged member of the LulzSec and Anonymous hacking groups – was arrested at 2.10pm last Wednesday in Lerwick, the capital of the Shetlands, having moved earlier in July from his long-time residence in Mid Yell, a northern island of the Shetlands.

He was charged on Sunday night with offences under the Computer Misuse Act, the Serious Crime Act, and the Criminal Law Act.

Davis is accused of gathering data from NHS computers, being involved with attacks on News International and being part of an attack that crashed the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency website.

Sources in Shetland said Davis's mother moved to the area about 12 years ago, bringing her other son.