12-year-old charged in Kutcher hoax

SWATTING VICTIM: Ashton Kutcher

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A 12-year-old boy has been charged with making prank calls that sent police to the home of Ashton Kutcher and to a Los Angeles bank.

Prosecutors allege that the boy called police in October and said armed men were inside Kutcher's Los Angeles home.  Authorities have accused the boy of having reported men armed with guns and explosives in Kutcher’s home and that several people had been shot. Dozens of emergency personnel were sent to the house.

A week later, a call reporting an emergency at a bank on Wilshire Boulevard also proved to be a hoax.

The district attorney's office said on Thursday (Friday NZ time) that the boy has been charged with two felony counts of making fake bomb threats and computer intrusion.

He is set to be arraigned Friday (local time) in juvenile court. Authorities didn't release the boy's name because of his age.

The practice of making such hoax calls has become known as ''swatting.'' The hoaxes often target the homes of celebrities.  Swatting calls in recent months have also sent police to the homes of singers Justin Bieber and Miley Cyru

- © Fairfax NZ News