Federal prosecutors have recommended a sentence of nearly three years in prison for a former Virginia high school teacher convicted of hacking into private digital accounts of celebrities and others.
Christopher Brannan pleaded guilty in October to aggravated identity theft and unauthorized access to a protected computer. He was the fifth person charged in the 2014 “celebgate” scandal in which hackers obtained nude photographs and other private information from more than 200 people.
Actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Mary Elizabeth Winstead are among the celebrities who said they were victims.
Brannon is a former teacher at Lee-Davis High School in Mechanicsville.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that prosecutors have asked the judge to sentence Brannan to 34 months in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for March 1 in U.S. District Court in Richmond.
Related: Celebrity Email Hacker Sentenced to 6 Months in Prison
Related: Dutch Police Shut Notorious ‘Revenge Porn’ Site, Three Arrested
Related: U.S. Man Charged in ‘Celebgate’ Nude Photo Hack
Related: “Celebgate” Hacker Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison

More from Associated Press
- Microsoft Will Pay $20M to Settle US Charges of Illegally Collecting Children’s Data
- Insider Q&A: Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity In Military Tech
- Idaho Hospitals Working to Resume Full Operations After Cyberattack
- Major Massachusetts Health Insurer Hit by Ransomware Attack, Member Data May Be Compromised
- Biden Picks New NSA Head, Key to Support of Ukraine, Defense of US Elections
- White House Unveils New Efforts to Guide Federal Research of AI
- Meta Fined Record $1.3 Billion and Ordered to Stop Sending European User Data to US
- China Tells Tech Manufacturers to Stop Using Micron Chips, Stepping Up Feud With United States
Latest News
- OWASP’s 2023 API Security Top 10 Refines View of API Risks
- Android’s June 2023 Security Update Patches Exploited Arm GPU Vulnerability
- ChatGPT Hallucinations Can Be Exploited to Distribute Malicious Code Packages
- Blumira Raises $15 Million for SMB-Tailored XDR Platform
- Microsoft Will Pay $20M to Settle US Charges of Illegally Collecting Children’s Data
- KeePass Update Patches Vulnerability Exposing Master Password
- AntChain, Intel Create New Privacy-Preserving Computing Platform for AI Training
- Keep Aware Raises $2.4M to Eliminate Browser Blind Spots
