On Wednesday, a Connecticut man was sentenced to eight months of imprisonment for his involvement in a hacking scandal involving nude photographs of actress Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities being leaked online, according to his lawyer.
George Garofano, 26, had admitted in April to breaking into about 240 Apple iCloud accounts and stealing users’ private information, part of a 2014 phishing scheme that tricked victims into divulging their usernames and passwords. Three other hackers involved have since been sentenced.
Richard Lynch, representing Mr. Garofano at sentencing in United States District Court Bridgeport Connecticut has stated that Judge Victor A. Bolden granted his client a lesser sentence than requested by prosecutors who argued for at least 10-16 months incarceration based on their assertion that hacking is an extremely serious crime.
Mr. Lynch stated he and his team asked the judge for a more lenient sentence: five months of imprisonment followed by five months of home confinement. According to Lynch, however, “The judge heard us out” but acknowledged “it was an extremely complex case due to so many victims”.
After Mr. Garofano completes his sentence, he will be subject to three years of supervised release.
Mr. Garofano of North Branford, Connecticut breached not only the accounts of celebrities like Ms. Lawrence, Kate Upton and Kirsten Dunst but also those belonging to ordinary users – like Ms. Lawrence who told Vanity Fair in 2014 she feared how the release of stolen photos might impact her career.
“Just because I am an actress or public figure does not mean I asked for this,” she told the magazine, labeling hacking as a “sex crime.”
“This is horrendous,” she stated. “Both laws and we need to change. ”
On Thursday, Ms. Lawrence declined to provide comment regarding her sentencing announcement.
Mr. Lynch noted his client had expressed regret. “When he gets behind a computer, he tends to forget how his actions impact others,” Mr. Lynch commented.
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