A Maryland mayor has been charged with distributing revenge porn after allegedly posting nude photos of an ex-girlfriend on the internet.
Andrew Bradshaw, mayor of Cambridge, was arrested Monday and released on his own recognizance after his first court appearance.
The 32-year-old official is accused of circulating the explicit images on the social news aggregation website Reddit without the woman’s consent, according to a release from the Office of the State Prosecutor.
Bradshaw is said to have created multiple Reddit accounts using variations on the name and birthday of the victim, according to court documents.
The mayor allegedly uploaded the compromising pictures in April and May this year, captioning them with racial slurs and sexually inappropriate language.
The woman discovered the images in May and went to police.
She told authorities she had sent the photos solely to Bradshaw while the two were in a romantic relationship – a relationship that had ended before she found the photos online.
“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,” State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III said in a statement.
“Our office is committed to protecting victims from those who abuse their positions of power and trust.”
Bradshaw was charged with 50 counts of distributing revenge porn.
If convicted, he faces a maximum of two years in prison and a $5,000 fine for each count.
Bradshaw became the youngest mayor in Cambridge’s history upon his inauguration in January. He is also the first Republican to hold the office.