Collins, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was charged in Los Angeles with violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information, prosecutors said. Prosecutors say the 36-year-old was charged as part of an investigation into the posting of nude photos of numerous celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and model Kate Upton, but the he is not suspected of being involved in releasing those images. There has not been any evidence that Collins himself posted any of the photos, or that he was directly involved in leaking them, officials said on Tuesday.
– A Pennsylvania man has agreed to plead guilty to hacking into email and online accounts of several female celebrities and stealing private information including nude photos and videos, the AP reports. The US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles announced Tuesday that Ryan Collins of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of gaining unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information. Prosecutors say the 36-year-old was charged as part of an investigation into the posting of nude photos of numerous celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and model Kate Upton, but the he is not suspected of being involved in releasing those images. Per NBC News, Collins got victims' usernames and passwords for Apple and Google accounts by sending them fake emails that claimed to be from Apple or Google; once in, he grabbed information including nude photos. Prosecutors stated they do not have any evidence Collins posted any of the images he stole from more than 100 Google and Apple accounts, but his is the first arrest connected to the 2014 hack, which affected at least 50 iCloud accounts and 72 Gmail accounts. Prosecutors will recommend an 18-month sentence.