A Maryland Republican mayor has been arrested and charged with revenge porn.
GOP politician Andrew Bradshaw is the mayor of Cambridge, Maryland. At 32 years old, he became the youngest mayor in Cambridge's history after being sworn into office in January of this year.
On Monday, Bradshaw was arrested and taken into custody, charged with 50 counts of revenge porn after posting nude photos of his ex-partner online.
Bradshaw posted the photos to Reddit in April and May of this year, using multiple fake profiles with his ex-partner's name and date of birth.
He posted the photos to multiple subReddits, captioning them with sexually explicit and racist phrases.
Republican Mayor of Cambridge, MD, Andrew Bradshaw, has been charged with 50 counts of distributing revenge porn.
The way he shared these was sick. He was seriously trying to degrade and hurt this woman.
h/t @TeresaCCarter2 https://t.co/v3cnGE18hq
— ClearingTheFog (@clearing_fog) November 15, 2021
The court documents read:
"Some REDDIT forums where the photographs of VICTIM-1 include subReddits named 'HumiliatingComments', 'DegradeThisPig', 'DegradedCaptions', 'Slut', and 'needysluts.'"
"Additional photographs of VICTIM-1 were posted in subReddits specifically related to 'raceplay' with racial slurs in several of the posting titles."
The woman, noted in court documents as "VICTIM-1" to protect her identity, notified authorities of the posting of her private photos and told them the only person she shared those photos with was Bradshaw during the course of their relationship.
She also told authorities she did not give Bradshaw consent to post her photos and the romantic relationship between them had recently ended.
Authorities were able to trace the IP address of the fake Reddit accounts to Bradshaw's home computer in Cambridge.
The document of charges suggests Bradshaw intentionally posted the photos without his ex's consent with the intention to harm and/or humiliate her, an action which is against Maryland state law outlawing acts of revenge porn posting.
He currently faces 50 charges of revenge porn.
Twitter users were appalled by the incident and expressed outrage over Bradshaw and solidarity with his victim.
First Republican mayor of Cambridge and this happens...anyone surprised that this happened with a Republican?
— Thomas Paine, Common Sense (@TPaine1988) November 16, 2021
"A mayor in Maryland who was arrested Monday and charged with 50 counts of distributing revenge porn is accused of posting nude photos without the victim's consent to the online forum Reddit, prosecutors said."
This is terrible and disgusting 😡.
— LG - Retired NYS Civil Servant 9/21 🐝🛣️ (@kbnjq) November 16, 2021
Seems like he included a side of racism, too. https://t.co/uG9jtcrEq4
— Stephen White (@sgw94) November 15, 2021
"Why they always gotta make it about RACE?!"
Because.
Even in a revenge porn case, we're smacked, just for daring to exist. https://t.co/qBfRUoKN8o
— Lt. Uhura (@LtUhura2017) November 15, 2021
Another "Conservative" scumbag.
If you want to control women's bodies, legislatively, you probably won't value them much as humans either. https://t.co/qZIC4v45Cx
— その男、凶暴につき (@DDIFreeman) November 16, 2021
“The kind of body black men love." https://t.co/edkPH9dlcU
— Lisa Snowden (@LisaMcCray) November 15, 2021
Did you say REPUBLICAN? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.
— Bill Merchant 🇺🇸 #Vet #FUGOP #BlackLivesMatter (@Bill_Merchant) November 16, 2021
PIG
— Essenviews (@essenviews) November 16, 2021
Why are men?
— 🍷🐝🚄Auntie Ouakam🚄🐝🍷 (@OuakamA) November 16, 2021
So what exactly does he think is "the kind of body black men love"? I hope they throw the book at this creep. https://t.co/Ju101M60K2
— Torrey Snow WBAL (@TorreySnowWbal) November 15, 2021
Whether he was dating her or not is irrelevant. Posting nude photos of someone without their consent is a crime. https://t.co/oN67dKYYGQ
— Anne Jensen (she/her) (@annemargaretj) November 16, 2021
If convicted, Bradshaw faces up to two years in prison and potential fines of up to $5,000 per charge, equaling up to $250,000 total.
Cambridge city officials have yet to release any statement on the incident other than to say they are "aware of the matter involving the mayor" and the city's business has not been affected by the unfolding events.
Maryland State Prosecutor, Charlton Howard III, expressed disgust over the incident.
He said:
"It's appalling behavior for anyone, especially someone vested with public responsibility. Even if the acts don't fall within official duties it contributes to the public's lack of faith in our leaders and institutions."
"People in romantic relationships exchange private confidences, messages and private images and they do it under an assumption, sometimes stated or understood, that they will be retained privately."
"Distribution can be exceptionally devastating…The pervasive depth and breath of the internet makes these cases exceptionally egregious."