Fifty counts of revenge porn: Maryland mayor looking at 100 years in jail after targeting ex on Reddit
(Mayor Andrew Bradshaw, Revenge Porn, Image credit: Facebook)
This week, Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III announced that 32-year-old Andrew Bradshaw, Mayor of Cambridge, Maryland, was charged with 50 counts of distributing revenge porn that targeted his former girlfriend.
The Criminal Information charging document, filed on November 15 in the Circuit Court for Dorchester County, alleges that Bradshaw created multiple accounts on the public Internet forum “Reddit”, employing public usernames consisting of permutations of the name and birthdate of a person, identified as VICTIM-1, who had a past romantic relationship with Bradshaw.
Bradshaw then allegedly posted nude photographs of VICTIM-1, captioned with racial slurs and sexually explicit language, on those “Reddit” accounts and various “Subreddit” forums that were related to sexual activity, humiliation, degradation, race, and other topics. The charging document further alleges Bradshaw disseminated the images without the knowledge or consent of VICTIM-1, and with the intent to harm her.
Maryland’s Revenge Porn Statute, Maryland Criminal Law Article § 3-809, prohibits the nonconsensual distribution of a private visual representation of another which exposes their intimate body parts or displays them engaged in sexual activity, with the intent to harm, harass, intimidate, threaten or coerce the person depicted.
“Using someone’s private images without their consent is a serious breach of trust and invasion of privacy, and the power and breadth of the internet makes such a violation even more egregious”, said State Prosecutor Howard, “Our office is committed to protecting victims from those who abuse their positions of power and trust.”
If convicted, Bradshaw would face a maximum penalty of two years’ incarceration and a $5,000 fine for each count – amounting to 100 years and $250,000.
Maryland State Police and the Easton Police Department were involved in the investigation into Bradshaw’s illegal activities.
A copy of the charging document can be found here. Be forewarned that although the charging document has been redacted to exclude racial epithets, it does contain sexually explicit language.
For more on the story, see the video accompanying this article.
(Source: Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor)
(Cover Image credit: Facebook)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
