Crysis 2 author found guilty of assaulting U.S federal officer
- — 20 March, 2010 04:48
On December 8 of last year, Canadian science fiction author Peter Watts had an altercation with a U.S. Customs officer at the border while on his way home. Today, a St. Clair County jury returned a guilty verdict for Watts.
Watts is well known in the science fiction community, but gamers know him as the guy who worked with Relic on the story that became Homeworld 2 and on a story with Crytek for the upcoming Crysis 2.
Accounts of the incident vary. When blog Boing Boing broke the story, they included the author's version of events wherein he was beaten, pepper-sprayed, denied legal counsel, and held in a cold jail cell overnight before being let go in Canada with no coat during a winter storm.
The charges filed against Watts allege that he refused to comply with orders during a routine border inspection and got physical with an officer named Andrew Beaudry. Beaudry testified during the trial that Watts tried to choke him.
Watts has not yet issued a public statement about the verdict. Sentencing is scheduled for April 26. He faces up to two years in prison.
