LOS ANGELES – 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, of Jacksonville 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.
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The woman, who authorities don’t believe to be a celebrity, said in a 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.”
She also claimed Chaney posted her photos on pornography-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 comment on 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 the 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.
Suicide machine, art fail to sell at auction
NEW YORK – A suicide machine belonging to Dr. Jack Kevorkian was withdrawn Friday from an auction of the assisted-suicide advocate’s possessions after failing to draw a high enough bid, while 17 of his paintings tied up in a legal dispute with a suburban Boston museum found no takers.
The paintings, including one Kevorkian did with his own blood, and about 100 other personal items went on sale at the New York Institute of Technology. The estate had estimated the paintings’ value at $2.5 million to $3.5 million.
The Armenian Library and Museum of America has refused to surrender the paintings.
The suicide machine had been estimated to sell for $100,000 to $200,000, but the highest bid was $65,000, said Lester Schecter, a publicist for the Kevorkian estate.
The machine delivers intravenous drugs that put the person to sleep and then stops the heart.
Surgery to keep singer quiet
NEW YORK – Adele’s voice has given her the biggest success this year — and the most trouble. The 23-year-old singer will have throat surgery and has now canceled all tour dates and promotional appearances for the year.
Columbia Records announced Friday that the “Rolling in the Deep” singer will have surgery “to alleviate the current issues with her throat.” A full recovery is expected.
Earlier this month, Adele canceled a U.S. concert run due to a hemorrhage in her vocal chord; she also canceled concerts in June due to laryngitis.
The statement said that doctors have ordered the Grammy winner to “completely recuperate before looking to schedule any work commitments.”
Adele’s “21” is the best-selling CD of the year in the U.S.; it’s sold more than 4 million units.
‘Jackass’ star’s car in scrape
PHILADELPHIA – Police say a new Porsche driven by “Jackass” star Bam Margera was sideswiped by another motorist in suburban Philadelphia.
State troopers said there were no injuries or citations issued in Thursday’s accident near Margera’s home in Pocopson Township.
Margera’s mother told The Philadelphia Inquirer that a truck scraped the length of her son’s four-month-old Panamera while he was stopped at a stop sign.
April Margera said the other driver told Bam that he was looking at his GPS when the crash happened. She said the motorist became excited when he realized who he’d hit.
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