Report: Former Staffers Plead Guilty to Leaking Plaskett Photos
‘We have put this incident behind us,’ Virgin Islands delegate says
Former staffers of Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett pleaded guilty to circulating lewd images of Plaskett and her husband.
Juan McCullum and Dorene Browne-Louis pleaded guilty to conspiracy to release sexual images and McCullum plead guilty to first degree attempt at unlawful publication of a sexual image in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Washington Examiner reported.
The guilty plea showed McCullum, who served in Plaskett’s office from April 2015 to June 2016, gained access to Plaskett’s phone in March 2016 when he offered to fix it and then created a Hotmail and Facebook account to leak photos and videos of Plaskett and her husband.
McCullum also informed Browne-Louis, who gave him contact information to further distribute the contents of Plaskett’s phone. Browne-Louis also sent the images to Plaskett’s primary challenger.
“My family and I are thankful for the efforts of the United States Capitol Police and the United States Attorney’s Office in holding accountable the individuals responsible for the violation of privacy perpetuated against my family and me,” Plaskett said in a statement. “We have put this incident behind us and are grateful for those who worked to bring closure to this matter.”
McCullum, who could spend 361 days in prison but a year and a day of his punishment could be suspended if he performs 100 hours of community service and does two years of supervised probation.
McCullum and Browne-Louis will be sentenced in March and April, the Examiner reported.