Hollywood hacker apologizes to celebrity victims

Scarlett Johansson AP FILE PHOTO

MIAMI—A computer hacker accused of infiltrating the email accounts of Hollywood stars including Scarlett Johansson apologized Thursday, saying he plans to plead guilty to all charges.

Christopher Chaney, 35, faces up to 121 years in jail after being arrested in Florida on Wednesday, following an 11-month probe into the hacking of over 50 victims, including actresses Christina Aguilera and Mila Kunis.

“I wasn’t saving the emails to blackmail someone,” Chaney, who faces 26 indictments, including accessing and damaging computers, wire tapping and identify theft, told local TV station Action News in Jacksonville, Florida.

“It started as curiosity and it turned to just being addictive,” he added, saying his interest was “seeing the behind-the-scenes of what’s going on with the people you see on the big screen.”

Chaney explained how he electronically hijacked the forwarding feature on the email accounts of Johansson and others, so that when they received a message, so did he.

But he insisted he did not sell any of the information or pictures he obtained.

“I don’t know how my email got a hold of, someone contacted me wanting the pictures,” he said.

“I don’t even know who it was. No, I didn’t give that person any pictures. I never wanted to sell or release any images.”

Chaney, who is due to appear in court in Florida on Friday although he is expected to be tried in Los Angeles, said he plans on pleading guilty to all the charges against him.

“I deeply apologize… I know what I did was probably the worst invasion of privacy someone could experience. I’m not trying to escape what I did. It was wrong. And I have to just face that and go forward.”

Aguilera’s computer was hacked last December, when racy photos of her also hit the Internet. Kunis’s cell phone was hacked in September with photos of her including one in a bathtub spread online.

The hacked pictures of Johansson, star of “The Horse Whisperer” and “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” appeared in mid-September and showed her in a state of undress in a home setting.

Chaney’s parents were present at the Action News interview. His mother told the broadcaster: “He’s a good kid, he just made a big mistake. He just had too much time on his hand. He’s too smart for his own good.”

An FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, asked for a reaction to the apology, said: “I would have to decline comment since Mr. Chaney will have an opportunity to respond to the charges in court.”