Maryland Mayor Charged With 50 Counts Of 'Revenge Porn' After Allegedly Posting Ex's Nude Images On Reddit
He created multiple Reddit accounts.
Facebook A mayor in Maryland has been arrested and is being charged with 50 counts of distributing revenge porn online.
Andrew Bradshaw, the 32-year-old mayor of Cambridge in Dorchester County, is being accused of posting nude photos of a woman he is no longer in a relationship with.
Mayor Andrew Bradshaw is accused of distributing revenge porn on Reddit.
Bradshaw allegedly created multiple Reddit accounts where he posted the nude photographs captioning them using racial slurs and sexually explicit language.
The images of the woman, who is being named as VICTIM-1 in the criminal complaint, were distributed without her consent.
“VICTIM-1 advised that she transmitted the posted photographs only to one other person, Andrew Bradshaw, that the photographs were sent when she and Bradshaw were in an intimate relationship, and that she did not provide Bradshaw with consent to re-distribute the photographs,” the complaint read.
The woman had contacted authorities in May after learning that her photos had been posted on Reddit.
She alerted authorities that she had sent the photos to Bradshaw while they had been in a romantic relationship, but she did not give him permission to post them anywhere.
“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.”
Investigators were able to link the mayor as the one who posted the pictures via an IP address that provided internet service to a Cambridge home that is owned by Bradshaw.
Bradshaw’s actions are in violation of Maryland's revenge porn regulations.
Maryland law prohibits the non-consensual distribution of a private visual representation of another which exposes their intimate body parts or displays them engaged in sexual activity, with the intent to harm, harass, intimidate, threaten or coerce the person depicted.
Bradshaw also posted on subreddit forums that were related to sexual activity, humiliation, degradation, race, and other topics.
Each subreddit had its own page, where users were able to share content by publishing stories, links, and posts.
Reddit as well does not allow the posting of intimate or sexually explicit media of someone without their consent.
If Bradshaw is convicted, he could face a maximum penalty of two years incarceration and could be fined $5,000 for each count.
Bradshaw has been temporarily removed from his position as mayor.
A biography of Bradshaw on the city’s website says he’s been a lifelong resident of the Cambridge area and upon taking office in January 2021, he became the youngest mayor in the City of Cambridge’s history.
The website also cites that Bradshaw has a partner, Natalee Tubman, and two dogs, Stella and Barren, whom he resides with in Cambridge.
A message posted on the city’s website also acknowledges the charges against Bradshaw, reading: “The City is aware of the matter involving the Mayor. The City is currently gathering information and will cooperate fully with the Maryland State Police and the Office of the State Prosecutor.”
“As the City has a Council-Manager form of municipal government whereby the City Manager serves as the chief executive officer of the City and the head of its administrative branch, the business of the City is unaffected. As this is an active legal matter, no further comments will be made at this time.”
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.