Former Plaskett Aide Sentenced To Prison For Sharing Explicit Video, Images Of Congresswoman

One of two former Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett staffers who pleaded guilty in January for distributing explicit images and a video of Ms. Plaskett and her husband, in an effort to harm her reelection bid, was sentenced today to a year in prison.

Juan R. McCullum, 36, of Washington, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and cyberstalking crimes, will serve one year in federal prison and must also complete two years of supervised probation, U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu and U.S. Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa said in a statement.

Co-defendant Dorene Browne-Louis, 45, of Upper Marlboro, Md., who admitted to conspiracy and being an accessory after the fact, faces up to six months in prison on each count. Her sentencing is set for April 23.

In a statement issued Thursday afternoon, Ms. Plaskett thanked law enforcement for their investigative work that has led to these outcomes. “My family and I are appreciative and grateful for the efforts of the United States Capitol Police and the United States Attorney’s Office along with all the law enforcement agents who worked to investigate this matter and bring to accountability the individuals responsible for the violation of privacy perpetuated against my family and me,” she said.

Ms. Plaskett also thanked USVI residents who she said has supported her throughout the ordeal. “Virgin Islanders have shown a tremendous amount of support to me and my family- for that I am grateful,” she said. “Standing up for what is right – from the local news outlets who received the images and documents from my Primary election opponents and would not publish them, to my predecessor, Congresswoman Donna Christiansen who extended herself to us, and the many many men and woman of the Virgin Islands who have been there for myself, my family and staff. I also want to also express my gratitude to my colleagues in the United States Congress who reached out to Jonathan and me.”

Mr. McCullum and Ms. Browne-Louis were indicted in July 2017. According to the indictment, both aides had worked for the delegate to Congress for over a year before leaving in mid-2016. The indictment said that in March 2016, Ms. Plaskett asked Mr. McCullum to take her iPhone to an Apple store for repairs. While he had her phone, however, he created Hotmail and Facebook accounts under a fictitious name to distribute and post nude images of Ms. Plaskett and her husband. The indictment alleged that Mr. McCullum used the social media accounts to encourage others to spread the images and videos in the U.S. Virgin Islands, whose people Ms. Plaskett represents.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia, Mr. McCullum alerted Ms. Browne-Louis to his actions, who later deleted Mr. McCullum’s text messages from her phone and gave “false, incomplete, and misleading statements” to law enforcement about her knowledge of Mr. McCullum’s actions.

Following the leak, which occurred in July of 2016, Ms. Plaskett said, “The theft and distribution of these personal images via the internet marks a new low in Virgin Islands politics. I am shocked and deeply saddened that someone would stoop to such a level as to invade my marriage and the love of my family in an attempt to besmirch me politically.

She added, “Private photographs shared between my husband and me, as well as a private playful video of our family, including one of our children, were illegally obtained and disseminated via the internet. To say my family and I are greatly upset would be a tremendous understatement. As a mother I am outraged that one of my children was exploited in such a way. The theft and dissemination of these images via the internet is a shockingly disgusting invasion of my family’s and my privacy – not to mention criminal acts in violation of both territorial and federal law.”