Thompson gets boy arrested

A 16-year-old Texan boy has been arrested for harassing Jack Thompson, according to the notorious anti-videogame campaigner himself.

"The specifics of the torture with which Thompson was threatened are so grotesque that they cannot be properly placed in this news release," Thompson wrote in a statement which he sent out to various news services and politicians.

"The torture was to end with the shooting of Thompson, as in this teen's favorite games."

Thompson claims that the boy was arrested at his high school by the Harris County Sheriff's Office after he submitted a tape of a phone call as evidence, and a representative of the office told US website Gamespot that a boy had indeed been charged with harassing communication.

This carries a maximum sentence of 12 months imprisonment and a $4,000 if the accused has prior convictions, but as a minor the boy is unlikely to face these penalties.

"'Shoot the messenger' is the videogame industry's strategy," Thompson wrote.

"This time, because of the arrest in Texas, it didn't work. It backfired."