The final of four hackers who leaked private nude photos ofJennifer Lawrenceandother female celebrities back in 2014was sentenced to eight months in prison on Wednesday, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Connecticut.
George Garofano, 26, had pled guilty in April toengaging in a phishing scheme that helped him illegally obtain usernames and passwords to private Apple iCloud accounts of approximately 240 people, many of whom are in the entertainment industry. Emails appeared to be from Apple security account he sent between April 2013 and Oct. 2014, encouraging victims to send him their personal information.
He admitted he then used that information to steal said information from his victims, including their private nude photographs and private videos, authorities said. Usernames and passwords, as well as the materials he stole from the victims, were also traded with other individuals.
Lawrence was one of Garofano’s victims, as were stars likeKate Upton,Kirsten Dunst, and Meagan Good — their photos spread online without their consent.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for THR
Three other hackers who participated in the leak have already been sentenced,The Guardianreported, each getting between 9-month and 18-months prison terms.
The sentencing comes nearly four years to the day after news of the leaks began surfacing.
“When I first found out it was happening, my security reached out to me,” Lawrence toldTHRback in November 2017. “It was happening minute-to-minute — it was almost like a ransom situation where they were releasing new ones every hour or so.”
An outspokensupporter of women’s rights, the actress said the hack even made her question her viability as a role model. “I think, like, a year and a half ago, somebody said something to me about how I was ‘a good role model for girls,’ and I had to go into the bathroom and sob because I felt like an imposter — I felt like, ‘I can’t believe somebody still feels that way after what happened,’ ” she said. “It’s so many different things to process when you’ve been violated like that.”
Though the prosecution of the four involved brings justice to the case, Lawrence likely isn’t feeling closure. In herTHRchat, she said that legal actions wasn’t going to bring her peace.
“None of that was gonna bring my nude body back to me and [former boyfriend] Nic [Hoult], the person that they were intended for,” Lawrence said. “I was just interested in healing.”
source: people.com
