It seems a little wrong that hacking your grades can net you the same/similar sentence as possessing child pornography (imo, the most heinous of crimes next to actually assaulting a child).

Doesn't this seem a little overkill? I mean, yes, they stole a password and used it to get into a system and change their grades. But 20 year + $250,000 fine? WTF?

I can only imagine how much time they'd have to serve if they actually committed a real crime.

In most places they might have been kicked out of school and gotten a fine/community service. It's not like they broke into Oakridge or Livermore with the intention of stealing nuclear secrets.

Granted, they haven't actually be convicted/sentenced yet, but come the fuck on... 20 years? Really?

If people don't secure their systems they deserve to be hacked.