2008.10.20 - E! Online - Guns N' Roses Leaker Pleads Innocent

Guns N' Roses Leaker Pleads Innocent

By Josh Grossberg

Welcome to the legal jungle.

The California man charged with illegally leaking tracks of Guns N' Roses' near-mythical Chinese Democracy pleaded not guilty today in federal court.

Kevin Cogill, a 27-year-old blogger known as "Skwerl" who uploaded nine tracks from the forever-in-the-works LP on his Antiquiet in June, was busted Aug. 27.

Per an affidavit submitted by federal agents, Cogill copped to putting the offending tunes on his site, though he was mum on how he managed to score a copy of what is arguably the most anticipated, if not overhyped, rock record of the decade.

After his arrest, Axl Rose and crew issued a statement saying that while the rockers "don't support this guy's actions at that level, our interest is in the original source [of the leak]."

Cogill faces up to five years in a federal pen if convicted of the misdemeanor count.

However, for a jury to find him guilty, prosecutors must prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Cogill unlawfully disseminated the previously unreleased songs for profit.

Attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful.

No word yet on a trial date. However, a tentative release date has finally been issued for Democracy.

Bestbuy.com has announced it will issue the disc exclusively via its website and stores nationwide on Nov. 25. Chinese Democracy's first single, "Shackler's Revenge," debuted last month on Rock Band 2 for the Xbox 360.

Here's the unofficial track listing, per Best Buy:

1. "Chinese Democracy"
2. "Shackler's Revenge"
3. "Better"
4. "Street of Dreams"
5. "If the World"
6. "There Was a Time"
7. "Catcher N' the Rye"
8. "Scraped"
9. "Riad N' the Bedouins"
10. "Sorry"
11. "I.R.S."
12. "Madagascar"
13. "This I Love"
14. "Prostitute"

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