I directly knew, from being in some IRC channels he and I frequented ages ago, that he was absolutely guilty of the charge. But I also knew (as far as I could tell) that he genuinely turned over a new leaf a while ago, left that life behind, and is trying to do good now. This is a pretty common story for whitehats; many of their hats weren't quite so white in their pasts, whether people around them are aware or not.

People make mistakes, and people can change. Don't feel too bad for contributing to his defense. He fucked up and is trying to make up for the damage he caused by sincerely helping people.