[NewsPoster]

An alleged iPad thief is attempting to rely on a unique defense, claiming a victim illegally trespassed on his property after utilizing the Find My iPad security service. The iPad's rightful owner used GPS coordinates to locate the device on the property of Canberra, Australia resident Alden Harder, who has been ordered by the court to provide fingerprints. Harder's attorneys are fighting the order, however, by arguing that the subsequent search warrant was based on unlawfully obtained evidence.

The victim was reportedly unable to convince police to take action based on the GPS coordinates, so he revisited Harder's property and activated Find My iPad's alarm function, according to a story published in The Canberra Times. After hearing a ring emanating from the garage, the victim was finally able to convince police to return to the property, where they found the iPad among other presumably stolen items. ''It's very clear that [the alleged victim's] purpose was to play amateur detective and to carry out a test with the GPS in his iPhone in an attempt to obtain evidence to give police as to the location of his iPad,'' Harder's attorney said. The lawyers also claim the victim committed "trespass via radio wave" by enabling the alarm function. The court has yet to formally charge Harder for the theft, however prosecutor Keegan Lee noted that the attorney's argument represents an "absurd expansion of the definition of a trespass." The court is expected to make a final decision on the matter by next week.

[FreeRange]

Throw the dumb ass thief in jail, along with his attorney for wasting the courts time! Can't take responsibility for his stealing ways and shows no remorse so lock him up and throw away the key for a couple years.

[FireWire]

What the h ell with all those stories of iProducts owners giving away thieves' location on a silver plate, sometimes even providing screenshot and pictures, yet police refuse to act? It's one thing to try to find stolen bikes but when it's a high-value item and the thief can be easily traced, why hesitate?

[macjockey]

that's because the crooks have more "rights" than the victim today.

[jdonahoe]

Maybe if the victim or should I say, the alleged victim, could charge the police with complicity for not going after the thief, this might not have had to go on so long. Of course, this probably tramples on the rights of the police.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by macjockey 

that's because the crooks have more "rights" than the victim today.

EVERYBODY has the same "rights" as the people making accusations until proven to be guilty.

There are societies where this works differently.

Think hard about whether you'd *really* want to live in one.

[Inkling]

A good headline for this story might be "Persistent crime victim forces lazy police to arrest stupid thief." The only unusual feature of this dispute is the refusal of the police to take Find my iPad data seriously. Tech whizzes they are not.

And the crook's lawyer is making a big reach with his "trespass via radio waves." Radio doesn't know any boundaries.