Scarlett Johansson Leaked Photos 2011: Hacker Pleads Not Guilty After Apologizing
The man accused of hacking into the email accounts of Scarlett Johansson and other Hollywood stars plead not guilty at his arraignment in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday despite apologizing for his actions after his arrest.
"I deeply apologize. I know what I did was probably one of the worst invasions of privacy someone could experience," said Chris Chaney on a CNN affiliate after being detained.
The 35-year-old Florida man was arrested in Jacksonville in October. Chaney has been charged with 26 counts of hacking in connection to hacked accounts of over 50 celebrities, including Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis and Christina Aguilera.
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The not guilty plea in federal court is usually a formality until a deal can be negotiated between the prosecutors and defense, according to an E! news report.
United States District Court Judge Patrick Walsh added another $100,000 to Chaney's bail. The initial bail was set for $10,000. Walsh ordered Chaney's mother to sign the bail bond.
He also ordered Chaney to wear a location-monitoring device and to not use a computer or smoke marijuana.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the hacker was able to break into the online accounts of the victims by sifting through public data on each person and guessing the passwords as well as security questions on each account. Chaney would then set up a forwarding application where every email sent or received by the account holder went into a special account controlled by him
His arrest ended an 11-month-investigation by the FBI. Chaney said the hacking became addicting and that he did not blackmail any of his victims.
He faces up to 121 years in prison if found guilty on all accounts. The trial is set for Dec. 27.
Scarlett Johansson, who had nude photos of her leak because of the hacks, recently said she was not ashamed of the photos.
The actress told Vanity Fair: "They were sent to my husband. There's nothing wrong with that. It’s not like I was shooting a porno – although there's nothing wrong with that either.
