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Last updated on Tuesday, July 18, 2017
(WASHINGTON) - A lawyer who worked for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives after co-starring on a reality TV show has been indicted on federal cyberstalking charges for allegedly stealing nude photos and videos from his boss’ cellphone then posting them online, prosecutors said.
Regina Holmes, of Talk Media News reports a grand jury indicted Juan McCullum, 35, of Washington, D.C., on two counts of cyberstalking, according to an indictment by the U.S. Attorney's Office of the District of Columbia that was returned Tuesday and unsealed Thursday.
Rep. Stacy Plaskett is a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the Virgin Islands.
McCullum's former co-worker, Dorene Browne-Louis, 45, of Upper Marlboro, Md., was indicted on two counts of obstruction of justice.
U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips and Chief Matthew Verderosa of the U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement released Thursday that both have been arrested.
The federal indictment refers to the victim as only "Delegate S.P." But Democrat Stacey Plaskett, a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives from the U.S. Virgin Islands, issued a statement Thursday evening thanking law enforcement and saying she was the victim of "an organized smear campaign."
Juan McCullum
McCullum worked as the general counsel in Plaskett's office and Browne-Louis was a scheduler.
The indictment alleges that in March 2016 McCullum offered to take Plaskett's iPhone to an Apple store in Washington, D.C., for a repair. Plaskett gave him the password to her phone, which contained private nude photos and videos of she and her husband, Jonathan Buckney Small. Her spokesperon has emphasized to the media that the stolen videos were not sex tapes.
In July 2016, after McCullum had stopped working for Plaskett, he created a Hotmail email account under a fake name and sent several messages containing her nude images to politicians, reporters and other people familiar with the delegate, prosecutors allege. He then created a Facebook account using the bogus identity and uploaded the images. He encouraged others to share the content to users in Plaskett's district and even friended her challengers in a primary election, the indictment says.
Browne-Louis deleted multiple texts and emails from McCullum showing the images, according to the indictment. She is accused of making false and misleading statements to law enforcement officers and the federal grand jury regarding her knowledge of McCullum's activities.
Browne-Louis has pleaded not guilty. The charge of obstruction of justice carries a maximum of 20 years of incarceration.
McCullum has not yet appeared in court. The cyberstalking charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
McCullum was a contender in the second season of the VH1 reality show "I Love New York" in 2007, where he vied for the affections of Tiffany "New York" Pollard. His nickname on the show was "Pretty."
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