A mayor of a town on Maryland's Eastern Shore has been charged with 50 counts of distributing revenge porn after he allegedly posted nude photos of a woman to Reddit while in office, according to documents released on Monday. Andrew Bradshaw, the 32-year-old mayor of Cambridge was charged with posting nude photos of a woman he no longer had a romantic relationship with.
The victim, a former girlfriend, came to know that Bradshaw has been posting her nude photos on social media, while she was outside the state. Bradshaw opened multiple accounts to post those nude photos along with identifying information and the address and birth date of the victim.
Revenge at Its Extreme
The alleged victim came forward to law enforcement in May, claiming that the her nude photos had been shared on Reddit without her consent. She also said that only Bradshaw, whom she had previously been romantically involved with, had been in possession of them, charging document filed in a Dorchester County court alleges.
Bradshaw created multiple accounts on Reddit and started posting the victim's, named as VICTIM-1, nude photographs captioned with racial slurs and sexually explicit language. He allegedly posted them to Reddit forums like r/DegradeThisPig and r/needysluts.
The link in the district attorney's statement comes with a warning that although the racial epithets were redacted, it does "contain sexually explicit language."
The accounts posting the photos were linked to an IP address that provided internet service to a home in Cambridge that Bradshaw owns, authorities said.
"Using someone's private images without their consent is a serious breach of trust and invasion of privacy, and the power and breadth of the internet makes such a violation even more egregious," said Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III said in a press release on Monday. "Our office is committed to protecting victims from those who abuse their positions of power and trust."
In Deep Trouble
The allegations are serious and may ruin Bradshaw's career completely. He was arrested on Monday and made an initial appearance in court, where he was released on his own recognizance. Bradshaw now has to abide by court-imposed restrictions, Howard said, one of which is that he not contact the victim.
Bradshaw bio on the city's website says that he has been a lifelong resident of the area. It said that when Bradshaw took office in January, he "became the youngest mayor in the City of Cambridge's history." The website also said Bradshaw lives in the city's historic district with his partner and their two dogs, Stella and Barren.
So far city officials have refrained from commenting on the matter. City officials declined to comment on the charges, but a statement on the city's website said they're "aware of the matter involving the mayor" and would cooperate with authorities. The statement notes the city's business isn't affected since the city manager serves as the city's chief executive and administrative branch head.
Maryland's revenge porn law prohibits the nonconsensual distribution of a private visual representation of another person that exposes the person's intimate body or displays the person engaged in sexual activity with the intent to harm, harass, intimidate, threaten or coerce the person, the statement read.
If convicted, Bradshaw would face a maximum penalty of two years in jail and a $5,000 fine for each count.
