A US man accused of Celebrity account hacking pleads not guilty Tuesday to hacking into the email accounts of celebrities such as Christina Aguilera, Mila Kunis and Scarlett Johansson, whose nude photos eventually landed on the Internet.
Christopher Chaney, 35, made his first court appearance in California, where he's been indicted on 26 counts, including unauthorized access to a computer and wiretapping. If convicted, he faces up to 121 years in prison.
Chaney was arrested as part of a yearlong investigation of celebrity hacking that authorities called "Operation Hackerazzi."
There were more than 50 victims. Some nude photos taken by Johansson herself were posted on the Internet. Chaney offered some material to celebrity blog sites, but there wasn't any evidence that he profited from his scheme, authorities said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Walsh denied federal prosecutors' request to remand Chaney to custody but modified his bond to $110,000, and he will wear an electronic monitoring device upon his return to Florida.
A trial has been scheduled for Dec. 27.
