Kevin Cogill, the man accused of leaking nine songs by Guns N’ Roses on the Internet, has pleaded guilty to copyright violation.

The 28-year-old internet blogger, who posted two songs onto his website in June, faces up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

The leak included six tracks that had appeared before in unfinished form and three songs - 'Rhiad and the Bedouins', 'If the World' and an unnamed track – that were all apparently new productions.

Cogill's charge was reduced yesterday (December) from felony to a less serious misdemeanour because of his cooperation with authorities to help identify the source of the leak.

Assistant US attorney Craig Missakian said: "I think the Internet affords a level of anonymity to people that lulls them into believing that what they are doing is either not criminal or beyond the reach of the law. But that's certainly not the case."

A number of the songs leaked onto Cogill's website, Antiquiet, included tracks from 'Chinese Democracy', which was released last month.

The album, which was over fifteen years in the making, was one of the most anticipated releases of the 21 century.

Cogill will be sentenced next March. An investigation to trace the source of the leak is ongoing.

(by Jason Gregory)