Two former Democrat staffers have been indicted for cyberstalking and copying nude photos and video from a Congresswoman’s cell phone when taking the phone in for repairs, reports say.
Virgin Islands Delegate Stacey Plaskett confirmed that the indictment of her former staffers was handed down this week, U.S. News reports.
The indictment states that in March of last year Del. Plaskett entrusted her iPhone and password to her general counsel, Juan McCullum, who was tasked with taking the device to a local Apple store for service. The indictment charges that the staffer snooped through the phone, found the “private, nude images and videos” and copied them to his own devices.
According to a Politico report published last year, one of Plaskett’s videos “showed her husband naked and wearing makeup.”
The court documents also charge that McCullum then sent up to eleven emails to several groups of people containing the nude images. The filing says the staffer “sent at least eleven email messages to multiple persons, including politicians, members of the media, and other persons known to [Plaskett].”
The indicted staffer is also alleged to have created a Facebook group where the images were posted.
“McCullum was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury on two counts of cyberstalking, the U.S. attorney’s office in the nation’s capital announced Thursday afternoon,” U.S. News reported.
A second staffer, Dorene Browne-Louis, was also indicted in the case. Browne-Louis was charged with two counts of obstructing justice for trying to delete evidence.
Browne-Louis pleaded not guilty and was released, but McCullum’s court date has yet to be set, according to reports.
Del. Plaskett released a statement thanking authorities for their consideration.
“Last year, my privacy was invaded, which was followed by an organized smear campaign and defamatory press reports concerning both me and my family,” the Delegate’s statement read. “I am deeply grateful to the Capitol Police and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for their thorough and in depth investigating [of] the crimes committed against me and those who I love.”
McCullum came to Del. Plaskett’s staff after a stint on the VH1 Reality TV show I Love New York. He was also named on of Washington D.C.’s “50 most beautiful people” last year.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.