A federal judge had sentenced a man to six months in federal prison for hacking into hundreds of Apple and Google accounts and stealing explicit photos from several unidentified celebrities.
According to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt also issued a $3,000 fine to the accused, Andrew Helton, a 29-year-old resident of Portland.
Helton pleaded guilty in March for stealing 161 nude or explicit photos from 13 people. Authorities have said they do not believe any of the images he stole were publicly released.
"For more than two years, defendant Andrew Helton targeted, baited, and hooked unsuspecting victims with his phishing e-mails," Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie S. Christensen wrote in a filing urging Kronstadt to sentence Helton to at least a year in prison. "He targeted strangers, acquaintances, and celebrities alike. He trolled through their private e-mail accounts, accessing the most private of communications. He systematically pilfered nude and intimate images of his victims and stored them for personal use."
His attorney defended him that he should not receive a prison sentence because the phishing technique he used was not technologically sophisticated, and his arrest forced him to confront his mental health issues and change his life.
"For the last ... five years or so, I've been a dead man walking, so to speak," Helton said at the outset of lengthy comments about how his arrest changed his life.
"Mental illness took over my life and surrounded everything," Helton said. Court filings noted he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after his arrest in 2013 and has been receiving treatment ever since.
He said for the first time in his life, he can envision a future and wants to help people.
According to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt also issued a $3,000 fine to the accused, Andrew Helton, a 29-year-old resident of Portland.
Helton pleaded guilty in March for stealing 161 nude or explicit photos from 13 people. Authorities have said they do not believe any of the images he stole were publicly released.
"For more than two years, defendant Andrew Helton targeted, baited, and hooked unsuspecting victims with his phishing e-mails," Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie S. Christensen wrote in a filing urging Kronstadt to sentence Helton to at least a year in prison. "He targeted strangers, acquaintances, and celebrities alike. He trolled through their private e-mail accounts, accessing the most private of communications. He systematically pilfered nude and intimate images of his victims and stored them for personal use."
His attorney defended him that he should not receive a prison sentence because the phishing technique he used was not technologically sophisticated, and his arrest forced him to confront his mental health issues and change his life.
"For the last ... five years or so, I've been a dead man walking, so to speak," Helton said at the outset of lengthy comments about how his arrest changed his life.
"Mental illness took over my life and surrounded everything," Helton said. Court filings noted he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after his arrest in 2013 and has been receiving treatment ever since.
He said for the first time in his life, he can envision a future and wants to help people.