Mom ordered to pay $1.92M for downloads

MINNEAPOLIS, June 19 (UPI) -- A Minnesota woman has been ordered to pay $1.92 million for downloading music, roughly $80,000 for each of the 24 songs she was accused of downloading.

The damages awarded Thursday by a federal judge sitting in Minneapolis were more severe than those sought during Jammie Thomas-Rasset's first trial that ended in a mistrial, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

The case against Thomas-Rasset is the first of the 30,000 suits brought by the Recording Industry Association of America against alleged file-sharers to go to trial. Thomas-Rasset, a mother of four, faced six recording companies who claimed that she downloaded and distributed more than 1,700 songs on the Internet file-sharing network Kazaa.

"We appreciate the jury's service and that they take this as seriously as we do," RIAA spokeswoman Cara Duckworth said in a statement. "Since day one we have been willing to settle this case and we remain willing to do so" she said, without indicating what an acceptable settlement would be.

Thomas-Rasset maintains someone other than herself downloaded the 24 songs the record companies focused on during the trial.

"The only thing I can say is, 'Good luck getting it from me,'" she said.