JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Action News' Chauncy Glover spoke exclusively with Christopher Chaney, the local man accused of hacking into the personal email accounts of Hollywood celebrities. Haney invited Chauncy into his home. He was very candid, and even admitted to knowing what he did was wrong. Haney told Action News he is ready to face the consequences.
"What did you do with the info you found in those emails?" asked Chauncy.
"Nothing, it was almost like a completely uncensored blog," said Chaney. "I wasn't saving the emails to blackmail someone."
"So, why did you do it?" asked Chauncy.
"It started as curiosity and it turned to just being addictive," answered Chaney. "Seeing the behind-the-scenes of what's going on with the people you see on the big screen."
Chaney says his thrill for celebrities turned into such a strong addiction he says he didn't know how to stop.
"I was almost relieved when they came in and took the computers inside," he said.
FBI agents say Chaney hijacked the forwarding feature on the email accounts of stars like Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and 48 others. He says when they received a message, so did he.
But Chaney told Action News he never sold any of the pictures or information he found, suggesting there are others involved.
"I don't know how my email got a hold of, someone contacted me wanting the pictures," said Chaney. "I don't even know who it was. No, I didn't give that person any pictures. I never wanted to sell or release any images."
Bottom line, Chaney says he knows what he did was wrong. His star fascination led to Hollywood hacking. But now the spotlight is on him as he's facing some very serious charges.
"I deeply apologize," said Chaney. "I know what I did was probably the worst invasion of privacy someone could experience. I'm not trying to escape what I did. It was wrong. And I have to just face that and go forward."
Chaney's parents were also there during the interview. His mother told Action News, "He's a good kid, he just made a big mistake. He just had too much time on his hand. He's too smart for his own good."
Chaney says his computer was picked up six months ago. He says he plans on pleading guilty to all of his charges.
