Editing Crop circle (section)

== Legal implications ==
In 1992, Gábor Takács and Róbert Dallos, both then aged 17, were the first people to face legal action after creating a crop circle. Takács and Dallos, of the St. Stephen Agricultural Technicum, a high school in Hungary specializing in [[agriculture]], created a {{convert|36|m|ft|abbr=on|adj=on}} diameter crop circle in a wheat field near [[Székesfehérvár]], {{convert|69|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} southwest of [[Budapest]], on 8 June 1992. In September, the pair appeared on Hungarian TV and exposed the circle as a hoax, showing photos of the field before and after the circle was made.<ref name="randi-1995">{{Cite book |last=Randi |first=James |title=[[An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural|An encyclopedia of claims, frauds, and hoaxes of the occult and supernatural: decidedly sceptical definitions of alternative realities]] |date=1995 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=978-0-312-15119-5 |location=New York, NY|author-link=James Randi}}</ref> As a result, Aranykalász Co., the owners of the land, sued the teens for 630,000&nbsp;[[Hungarian forint|Ft]] (~$3,000&nbsp;USD) in [[damages]]. The presiding judge ruled that the students were only responsible for the damage caused in the circle itself,<ref name="randi-1995" /> amounting to about 6,000&nbsp;Ft (~$30&nbsp;USD), and that 99% of the damage to the crops was caused by the thousands of visitors who flocked to Székesfehérvár following the media's promotion of the circle. The fine was eventually paid by the TV show, as were the students' legal fees.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}

In 2000, Matthew Williams became the first man in the UK to be arrested for causing criminal damage after making a crop circle near [[Devizes]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/police-unravel-mystery-of-the-crop-circle-621923.html |location= London |newspaper= The Independent |title= Police unravel mystery of the crop circle |author= Cahal Milmo |date= November 4, 2000 |access-date= 26 August 2017 |archive-date= 25 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150925032257/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/police-unravel-mystery-of-the-crop-circle-621923.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> In November 2000, he was fined £100 plus £40 in costs.<ref>{{cite news|title=Man fined £100 for making crop circle |newspaper=thisiswiltshire.co.uk |location=Weybridge |date=7 November 2000 |url=http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/archive/2000/11/07/7393897.Man_fined___100_for_making_crop_circle/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140515090322/http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/archive/2000/11/07/7393897.Man_fined___100_for_making_crop_circle/ |archive-date=15 May 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Secrets of crop circles |newspaper=thisiswiltshire.co.uk |location=Weybridge |date=2 May 2002 |url=http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/archive/2002/05/02/7351329.Secrets_of_crop_circles/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123193451/http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/archive/2002/05/02/7351329.Secrets_of_crop_circles/ |archive-date=23 January 2015 }}</ref> {{As of|2008}}, no one else has been successfully prosecuted in the UK for criminal damage caused by creating crop circles.{{refn|group=n|name= "Cohen2008"|In a newspaper article Lewis Cohen wrote, "Williams is probably best known as the only person in the UK to be successfully prosecuted for making crop circles. He has since made a name for himself creating crop circles for TV companies and commercial firms..."<ref>{{cite news |title= Mystery surrounds emergency landing |newspaper= thisiswiltshire.co.uk |location= Weybridge |author= Lewis Cohen |date= 25 February 2008 |url= http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/2070463.Mystery_surrounds_emergency_landing/}}</ref>}}