AP NewsBreak:
Stalking claim in celeb hacking case

[October 29, 2011]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Florida man charged with hacking into the email accounts of Christina Aguilera and Scarlett Johansson may have stalked a woman online for the past 12 years, according to an unsealed search warrant obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.

The warrant served on a hard drive belonging to Christopher Chaney, 35, showed that it was used to conduct Internet searches as recently as last November for a Connecticut woman who had complained to police that Chaney had been chatting with her online since she was 13 years old.

The woman, who authorities don't believe to be a celebrity, said in a 53-page report that Chaney caused her "serious emotional distress" by stealing several of her online accounts and sending her friends and family "private, copyrighted embarrassing images and video," according to the warrant. She also claimed Chaney posted her photos on porn-related forums.

Chaney has been indicted in California on 26 counts, including unauthorized computer access and wiretapping, and faces up to 121 years in prison if convicted.

He is scheduled to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday. His attorney Chris Chesnut did not have an immediate comment about the new allegations.

Chaney, free on $10,000 bond, has apologized for his actions. Chesnut wouldn't say if his client would plead guilty.

"We are all open to resolve this," Chesnut told AP on Friday. "He doesn't want to drag this out and have a trial. He's very interested in a quick, expeditious resolution but it has to be within reason."

Federal prosecutors said Chaney hacked into email accounts belonging to Aguilera, Johansson and Mila Kunis. Some nude photos taken by Johansson herself were posted on the Internet.

The warrant also said Chaney admitted during a February interview with FBI agents to getting unauthorized access to celebrity email accounts.

Chaney said he managed to hack into Johannson's email account to send one of her acquaintances an email containing a nude photo of her in exchange for a photo, authorities said. He also used stylist Simone Harouche's email account to send a message to Aguilera asking for photos, according to the search warrant.

Authorities said Chaney's hard drive contained numerous private celebrity photos as well as a document that compiled their extensive personal data.

The warrant contends there is probable cause that Chaney violated federal stalking and unauthorized access to a computer charges.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman with the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, declined comment on whether additional charges would be filed against Chaney.

Authorities said by August 2008, Chaney had gained access to two of the woman's email or chat accounts and over the next 10 months would either pose as her or upload her personal files. In some instances, nude images of the woman taken when she was underage were accessed, according to the warrant.

"I assume that Christopher Chaney collected images of and information about me over the last 11 years and used it to crack security questions and get into my sent email messages," the woman told authorities.

[Associated Press; By GREG RISLING]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.