The original plea deal offering of 2 years is what I find appalling; it smacks of a prosecutor who just wants to get the case off his desk as soon as possible. Read the whole sentencing memo; the 239 month recommendation seems entirely reasonable to me.
He was offered 2 years, after being caught red handed orchestrating a many-months-long criminal campaign against his neighbors in retaliation for a molestation charge he confessed to. He took it to trial instead. In the process, he violated the terms of his release from confinement. He coached family witnesses in writing to lie about the circumstances of his offense. He told the court directly that the actual victims in the case were attempting to frame him. He was given by the court an opportunity to write an "Acceptance of Responsibility" statement as a means of mitigating his sentence; in it, he told the sentencing judge that he was the victim.
As a result, the prosecution wrote:
At every turn, the defendant has chosen not to accept responsibility for his actions and to obstruct justice. This Court has had a firsthand opportunity to see defendant’s dangerousness, lack of remorse, and disregard for the law. A lengthy sentence is needed to prevent the defendant from engaging in any further harm.
Defendant is dangerous. Defendant is remorseless.
Ardolf's own actions in front of the court suggest that he's a psychopath. What judge is going to go easy on someone like that?
What gets me here is, if "wifi hacking" wasn't involved, this bind to the "Your Rights Online" neuroreceptors in HN reader brains and we wouldn't be arguing it. This is a crazy person who has thankfully been removed from public circulation. Forget about the wifi stuff. Total red herring.