Andrew Bradshaw.Photo: Andrew Bradshaw/Facebook
A Maryland mayor has been arrested and charged with 50 counts of distributing “revenge porn” after being accused of posting nude photos of someone without their consent to Reddit, according to prosecutors.
In astatement issued Monday, Maryland’s state prosecutor announced the charges, which stemmed from Reddit accounts that Cambridge Mayor Andrew Bradshaw is suspected of making to post images of a woman with whom he “had a past romantic relationship.”
According to the prosecutor’s office, the 32-year-old Bradshaw — aRepublican elected in 2020— created several accounts using usernames that were variations on the victim’s name and birth date and then used those accounts to post nude photographs of her “captioned with racial slurs and sexually explicit language.”
Prosecutors say the images were published on various Reddit forums related to race, sexual activity and humiliation.
Thecharging documentsallege that Bradshaw “disseminated the images without the knowledge or consent of VICTIM-1, and with the intent to harm her.”
The documents add that the images show the victim with “intimate parts exposed.”
Maryland’s Revenge Porn Statute 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.”
If convicted of the charges, Bradshaw would face a maximum penalty of two years' incarceration and a $5,000 fine for each count, according to the prosecutor’s office.
“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,” State Prosecutor Charlton Howard said in the statement announcing the charges. “Our office is committed to protecting victims from those who abuse their positions of power and trust.”
According to the charging documents, the victim contacted law enforcement in May, after discovering the photos of herself on Reddit. The images, she said, had been sent to Bradshaw while the two were in an intimate relationship and were later “posted without her knowledge or consent.”
Bradshaw was arrested Monday and released on his own recognizance after his initial court appearance, Howard, the state prosecutor,told NBC News.
An attorney for Bradshaw did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Meanwhile, the city of Cambridge said in anotice on its websitethat is aware of the situation and is cooperating with the Maryland State Police and prosecutors.
source: people.com
