Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash has said he hopes the blogger who leaked nine tracks from the band's forever delayed new album 'The Chinese Democracy' "rots in jail". As previously reported, Kevin Cogill was arrested last week after posting songs from the album on his website back in June and is now facing up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Slash told The LA Times: "I hope he rots in jail. It's going to affect the sales of the record, and it's not fair. The internet is what it is, and you have to deal with it accordingly, but I think if someone goes and steals something, it's theft".
The band themselves were a little more restrained, releasing a statement saying: "Presently, though we don't support this guy's actions at that level, our interest is in the original source. We can't comment publicly at this time as the investigation is ongoing".
The judge presiding over the case can comment on it, though. And in a hearing last Friday, he said that the arrest of Coghill was "too dramatic' when a simple court summons would have done. He also said that the proposal of $50,000 for bail was excessive and let him go on a $10,000 bond.
Coghill's girlfriend spoke to Rolling Stone about the arrest. She said: "They put him in handcuffs. They let me get him a shirt, and shoes without any laces before they took him away".
He will next appear in court for his preliminary hearing on 17 Sep.