Hacker Admits to Illegally Downloading Nude Pix From Celebs' Online Accounts

CHICAGO, IL — The Chicago hacker behind a scheme that gave him illegal access to the online accounts of celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton pleaded guilty Tuesday to unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information as part of a deal he struck with prosecutors earlier this summer, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Edward Majerczyk, 29, formerly of Orland Park and the son of a retired Chicago cop, admitted Tuesday, Sept. 27, to a phishing scam that allowed him to pull down personal information and files from "the cloud" of more than 300 online users between November 2013 and August 2014. Actresses and models were among the users he targeted, and some of the files that were stolen contained intimate personal photos.

The online breach made national headlines when nude photos of Lawrence and other celebrities began popping up on online forums and websites as part of a pseudo-event called "The Fappening."

While admitting to pulling down the files, Majercyzk denied in court Tuesday that he sold or passed along any of the photos that appeared online, the Tribune reports. He agreed with the judge that he only hacked into celebrity accounts "for his own personal satisfaction and enjoyment," the report added.

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A federal investigation is still ongoing into how the photos ended up online, according to the report. Lawrence — who had pictures she had taken for her then-boyfriend stolen and leaked — characterized the hacking as "a sex crime" in a 2014 Vanity Fair interview, saying her celebrity status shouldn't make violations like this acceptable.

As part of a 20-page plea deal that was signed in July, Majercyzk, who now lives on the Southwest Side, faces nine months in prison. Sentencing will be Jan. 10, the report stated.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Jennifer Lawrence in "X-Men: Apocalypse" (photo via 20th Century Fox)

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