July 18, 2012

JULY 18--Christina Aguilera contends that the recent hacking of her e-mail account had stripped her of a "feeling of security" that now "can never be given back," according to a victim's impact statement submitted to a U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles.

The singer's statement was prepared in advance of the sentencing of Christopher Chaney, the Florida felon/online stalker who has pleaded guilty to illegally accessing the e-mail accounts of more than 50 victims (many of them Hollywood figures).

In a statement sent this week to Judge James S. Otero by her PR firm, Aguilera noted that she was "no stranger to my life being exposed to the media and the public," adding that "it is par for the course these days."

However, the theft of "Emails with my best friends and exchanges between myself and my closet confidants and photos taken in the comfort and safety of my own home," Aguilera stated, "are moments that were taken from me. That feeling of security can never be given back and there is no compensation that can restore the feeling one has from such a large invasion of privacy."

Chaney has admitted hacking into the e-mail account of Aguilera's stylist, Simone Harouche, and stealing several photos of the 31-year-old pop star, including two shots showing her virtually nude, save a set of pasties. The Aguilera photos were leaked online in late-2010.

Aguilera's victim impact statement does not suggest a specific punishment for Chaney, who has pleaded guilty to nine felonies. Prosecutors have asked Otero to sentence the 36-year-old Florida man to 71 months in prison and order him to pay about $160,000 in total restitution to his victims ($7500 of this amount is earmarked for Aguilera).

In a court order docketed today, Judge Otero rejected a prosecution request to play at Chaney's sentencing a videotape statement recorded by one of his female victims.

Government lawyers reported that the victim--who a TSG source identified as actress Scarlett Johansson--would not be able to attend Chaney's July 23 sentencing since she is "scheduled to be in Europe for business meetings and personal matters."

Otero ruled that the victim "could provide a written statement and counsel for the government may read the statement into the record." In the alternative, Otero said that prosecutors could make a motion seeking to postpone Chaney's sentencing date to accommodate the victim's schedule.

As it turns out, prosecutors and Chaney's lawyer are jointly seeking to postpone sentencing to August 27. Which still might not work with Johannson's schedule. Her lawyer has told the FBI that she will not return to the U.S. "until some time after August 27." (3 pages)

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