Annandale, Va. - A teenager arrested last month for capturing 20 seconds of the film "Transformers" in a movie theater has pleaded guilty to violating a state law against camcording movies, according to reports.

Nineteen-year-old Jhannet Sejas faced up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine, but with the guilty plea was fined $71 in court costs and will have the misdemeanor expunged from her record in a year.

Sejas told the Washington Post she taped the 20-second clips with her Canon PowerShot camera to show her 13-year-old brother, and had no intention to commercially distribute it.

"I was terrified," Sejas told the Post. "I was crying. I've never been in trouble before."

Theater owner Regal Cinemas decided to prosecute, having instated a "zero-tolerance" policy, and also banned Sejas from the theater for life.

"We hope that this case reinforces our efforts to educate the public that unauthorized recording, whether a clip or the whole film, in movie theaters is against the law," Patrick Corcoran, a spokesman for the National Association of Theater Owners, told Wired.com.

Related Links:
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/08/teen-cops-guilt.html

http://tinyurl.com/yo9sv9 (Washington Post)

http://www.regalcinemas.com