There seems to seems to be some sort of separation line between the internet and the offline world, where committing questionable acts over the internet has you excused, while committing the same act in the offline world results in consequences and punishment. Criticizing misbehaviour on the internet often is countered with arguments such as "but it's the internet" or "the internet is a free zone". In my opinion the internet is still far too often treated as one big newpaper, where every user is treated as reporter protected under an unconditioned law of freedom of the press.
To give an example, the latest phenomenon is the growth of reality reporting sites. These are websites where for example images and visual recordings of murdered, sexually violated or injured people are shared between site members as if they are nothing more than collectible stamps. Often no attempt is made at shutting down these sites while clearly the identities of the victims are recognisable. You would assume that'd account for a breach of privacy in the most severe way possible and that for this reason alone there'd be more than enough ground for the site host, ISP or the site owner's government to shut down the website, as well as that actively sharing and spreading such images as a site user would have you arrested or disciplined. Yet if someone would possess the same visual material in tangible form (printed photographs or videotapes) they are immediately arrested, convicted and locked up before the end of the month. Why do we often separate a medium such as the internet from the offline world, when the acts committed on both of them are identical?
While I'm not aware about the severity of this person's acts, given the fact that news/reporting sites do not always remain unbiased and therefore judge if the person was in enough error to go to jail, I do agree that the internet should NOT be a safe haven for malevolent or otherwise unlawful behaviour. To forego responsibility or lawful behaviour on the internet is in my opinion selfish convenience. The internet should not be censored, but repeated offensive behaviour should not be blatantly excused just because "it's the internet". Regardless of whether or not doing so has become a habit, unhealthy habits are best unlearned. Unfortunately though this person would have been better off with 18 weeks of psychiatric treatment, as throwing a mentally sick or otherwise troubled person into an obliette only makes them more insane.