Celebrity Hacker Ryan Collins Pleads Guilty; Jennifer Lawrence, Gabrielle Union Were Among His Victims

Ryan Collins, the hacker who stole pictures of celebrities from their iCloud accounts, has pleaded guilty to felony computer hacking charges.

Celeb Hacker Pleads Guilty

Collins, 36, was charged Tuesday with felony computer hacking, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, reported The Hollywood Reporter. Prosecutors believe that Collins had hacked into at least 50 iCloud accounts, and 72 Gmail accounts. The majority of the accounts that Collins accessed belonged to female celebrities.

“By illegally accessing intimate details of his victims’ personal lives, Mr. Collins violated their privacy and left many to contend with lasting emotional distress, embarrassment and feelings of insecurity,” said David Bowdich, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, in the statement. “We continue to see both celebrities and victims from all walks of life suffer the consequences of this crime and strongly encourage users of Internet-connected devices to strengthen passwords and to be skeptical when replying to emails asking for personal information.”

Collins is pleading guilty to a felony violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and to one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information. For his crimes, he faces up to five years in federal prison. Prosecutors, however, are recommending only 18 months.

Among the celebrities victimized in the hacks and subsequent leak of private images included Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Gabriel Union and Ariana Grande.