Chicago Hacker to Admit Guilt in Nude Celeb Pix Case; Is What He Did a Sex Crime?

The Chicago hacker responsible for an internet scheme allowing him to illegally access more than 300 online accounts—including the accounts of celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence and Kirsten Dunst—is headed to court next week to formally plead guilty and face sentencing, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Edward Majerczyk, 28, formerly of Orland Park and the son of a retired Chicago cop, signed a 20-page plea deal in July, admitting to using a phishing scam to pull down personal information and files from "the cloud" between November 2013 and August 2014. Some of those files included nude personal photos of Lawrence and other actresses and models that then popped up on online forums and websites as part of a pseudo-event that went by the boorish name of "The Fappening."

Majercyzk, who has no criminal record, will formally plead guilty to unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information at his Sept. 8 hearing in federal court in Chicago, the report stated. After that, prosecutors will request that Majercyzk be sentenced to nine months in prison, the report added.

Although he's admitted to breaching online accounts, Majerczyk has not confessed to nor has he been accused of posting any of the photos and information he gained illegal access to, the Tribune reports. Law enforcement agencies are still investigating how that happened, the report added.

RELATED: Plea Expected for Hacker of Celebrity Emails for Nude Pix

Lawrence has been outspoken about this criminal invasion of privacy after intimate photos she had taken for her then-boyfriend began circulating online in 2014. In a Vanity Fair interview that same year, the Oscar-winning actress characterized the hacking as "a sex crime" and said her celebrity status shouldn't make violations like this acceptable.

“Just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this. It does not mean that it comes with the territory. It’s my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting. I can’t believe that we even live in that kind of world. …

“It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime. It is a sexual violation. It’s disgusting. The law needs to be changed, and we need to change. That’s why these Web sites are responsible. Just the fact that somebody can be sexually exploited and violated, and the first thought that crosses somebody’s mind is to make a profit from it. It’s so beyond me. I just can’t imagine being that detached from humanity. I can’t imagine being that thoughtless and careless and so empty inside.”

Lawrence, 26, also told the magazine that the people who looked at her private photos online were just as complicit in wrongdoing as the individuals responsible for stealing them from her account and releasing them:

“Anybody who looked at those pictures, you’re perpetuating a sexual offense. You should cower with shame. Even people who I know and love say, ‘Oh, yeah, I looked at the pictures.’ I don’t want to get mad, but at the same time I’m thinking, I didn’t tell you that you could look at my naked body.”

YOUR TURN: Is nine months in jail a severe enough sentence for Edward Majerczyk? Do you agree with Jennifer Lawrence that what he did should be thought of as a "sex crime"? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section. Plus, take Patch's poll on the topic.

More via the Chicago Tribune

PHOTO: Jennifer Lawrence in 2013's "American Hustle." (Image via Columbia Pictures)

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