To indict someone, you don't have to prove your interpretation of the facts. You have to present evidence that supports your interpretation of the facts. The fact that he hid is face is perfectly reasonable evidence to suggest he knew he was accessing MIT resources he should not have, sufficient to support an indictment.

Now, maybe he could have argued that he nonetheless didn't know it wasn't meant for public access. I doubt the prosecutor would have believed that claim, or a jury. I don't believe it, and I honestly don't think you believe it either. So why drag us both down this ridiculous hypothetical?

The miscarriage of justice here is that they dropped the trespassing charge because the CFAA charge was so much more lucrative. There is no reason a minor network intrusion should carry a firmer penalty than an equivalent physical trespass. I wholeheartedly agree on that point. But to make the stronger argument that Aaron did nothing wrong, you have to put aside common sense to the point where you're arguing that a grown man didn't know he wasn't supposed to be doing something when even a child could have parsed the situation correctly.