Miss Teen USA 'sextortion' suspect pleads guilty

Associated Press Tue Nov 12, 2013 4:02 PM

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A 19-year-old Southern California computer science student pleaded guilty Tuesday to hacking the computers of Miss Teen USA and other women and secretly photographing them with their own webcams.

Jared James Abrahams answered a series of questions from U.S. District Judge James Selna in an Orange County courtroom, including an explanation of the crimes that were committed.

"I hacked several girls' computers and, using their webcams, took photos of them when they weren't aware," Abrahams said meekly.

Abrahams pleaded guilty to three counts of extortion and one count of unauthorized access of a computer. He faces up to 11 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million when he's sentenced in March.

Over the past two years, Abrahams hacked into the computers of at least a dozen women in their late teens or early 20s from various states and countries, including Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf.

Court records say he also sent the women anonymous emails telling them he had downloaded nude photos of them. He told them he would publish the images on social media sites if they didn't send him additional pictures or undress for him. If the women complied, Abrahams promised to destroy the images.

At least two of his victims gave in to his demands, authorities said.

"Did you know you were extorting them when you made these demands?" Selna asked.

"Yes," Abrahams responded.

Dressed in matching gray pants and shirt with a black jacket, Abrahams told the judge he has autism and has been under treatment for the past 10 years. He said he was on three medications Tuesday, but he said they wouldn't affect his ability to enter a guilty plea.

Outside court, his attorney Alan Eisner said Abrahams apologizes for his actions. He said the autism played a contributing role in the scheme.

"The social disorder had, certainly, a part in it," Eisner said. "Again, I say that not to blame the conduct on anything, not to make an excuse for the conduct, but that's part of the full picture."

In Wolf's case, Abrahams was able to take nude photos of her without her knowledge, authorities said. He posted a naked photo of Wolf online after she didn't respond to him.

Abrahams and Wolf went to the same high school.

According to an FBI affidavit, Abrahams told Wolf: "Your dream of being a model will be transformed into a pornstar."

Wolf, also 19 and a graduate of Great Oak High School in Temecula, won the Miss Teen USA crown in August. She has spoken publically about the incident, saying she would use her fame to highlight cybercrime.

Abrahams is accused of employing similar hacking tactics used by a Florida man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year after he broke into the personal online accounts of Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and other women and posted revealing photos and other material online.

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CEE LO GREEN Pleads Not Guilty To Ecstasy Charge

was charged with one count of “furnishing a controlled substance” to a woman that he dated in Los Angeles last year. Since then, he denied the allegations of being accused with sexual battery, in hopes of not facing up to four years in prison.

The rape charge against the singer was later rejected due to lack of evidence, but the case has yet to return to court on Nov. 20 for the drug bit of his case. Needless to say, he also just pleaded not guilty for giving out ecstasy.

Cee Lo previously admitted in an interview with celebrity news that he used to rob and beat people up. Perhaps, if he can be honest with his past, maybe there’s a small chance that he did not sexually assault the unidentified woman?

Oh well, let’s just wait and see how this turns out.

Do you think Cee Lo really did it? Post your opinions on the comments section below!

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Max Clifford Pleads Not Guilty To Charges Of Indecent Assault

Max Clifford Told The Media He Is Not Guilty Of The Charges Of Indecent Assault

When PR Consultant Max Clifford was arrested for 11 counts of indecent assault it sent shock waves around the celebrity world. The media was asking who could be next after one of the highest profile figures in the media world was arrested. Max Clifford said from day one he was innocent of the indecent assault charges and today the Public Relations Consultant stood up in court and pleaded not guilty while saying he intends to prove his innocence.

Max Clifford, 70, from Hersham Surrey, has always denied the charges which relate to seven alleged victims. The Public Relations Consultant whose job is to protect his celebrity clients and keep them out of the media for misbehaving has found himself in the spotlight over the charges of indecent assault which relate to alleged victims from the age of 14 to 19, which according to the prosecution happened between 1966 and 1985.

'Max Clifford Pleads Not Guilty To Indecent Assault Charges'

After pleading not guilty to 11 counts of indecent assault at Southwark Crown Court, the court set a date for a full trial for the 4th March 2014 where it is believed the trial will last around four weeks.

Max Clifford told the awaiting media before he gave his plea that he was totally innocent and planned to plead not guilty. He also said that he was grateful to the public for their support and planned to prove his innocence over the indecent assault charges.

The full list of offences relating to seven complainants against Max Clifford are:

   

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Minnie Driver on working motherhood: 'I do feel guilty sometimes'

Minnie Driver Photo: Rex Features By Hannah Furness

1:31PM BST 20 Oct 2013

Minnie Driver, the actress, has spoken of the "guilty" feeling about combining work and motherhood, as she discloses she brings her son onto the set to alleviate the “awful” feeling of missing seeing him awake.

Driver, who was Oscar-nominated for her role in Good Will Hunting and won an Emmy for The Riches, said it was “important” for her five-year-old to see her work ethic.

But she admitted it was “awful” to leave the house before he was awake and come back after he was asleep.

“I do feel guilty sometimes, of course,” she told the Sunday Express. “If I leave the house before Henry has woken up and I’m back after he has gone to bed, it’s awful.

“So I find a way of getting his dad, a friend or his nanny to bring him on set when I’m working.

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“And that’s important too – I do hope I set a good example with my work ethic.”

She added: “It’s important for my son to see that in action, so when he comes to set, he hangs out, he knows when to be quiet and he even calls ‘action’, which is really funny.”

She admitted being an actress was a “fairly self-involved profession”, with having a child the “very best thing that can happen”.

Saying her focus had “broadened”, she added working parents enjoy their career “more because you realise it’s not the most important thing”.

Describing her perfect day, she told the magazine it would be spending time with her son, making breakfast, walking to their best friend’s house and playing sports.

Speaking of their close relationship, she claimed he was still a “mummy’s boy”, saying: “He will brush my hair and he likes to tell me things we are going to do together when he grows up.”

She added her relationship with her son is “really close”, speculating his talent for performing may mean he follows her into acting when he’s older.

Driver, 43, was speaking out in support of Children In Need, as she confesses hearing the moving stories made her “incredibly grateful” for what she has.

She added that being able to help others is the “best side of fame”, as she auctions a signed ornamental Lindt bear to raise money for the charity.

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