Cambridge Mayor Andrew Bradshaw was arrested Monday and charged with 50 counts of distributing explicit images of an ex-girlfriend. The 32-year-old mayor is accused of circulating revenge porn, posting nude photos of his ex-partner on social media platform Reddit without her knowledge and consent.
According to the Baltimore Sun, prosecutors stated that Bradshaw had been using several usernames on the site, including that of the victim’s birth date to post the nude photos. The posts were found on a number of Reddit forums captioned with racial slurs and sexually vulgar remarks.
Bradshaw’s ex-girlfriend had contacted law enforcement in May regarding the said images and told them he was the only person to whom she had sent those photographs. They were no longer in a relationship when she discovered the photos online. Investigators were able to track the Reddit posts to an IP address that provided internet service to Bradshaw’s home.
In a news release from the state prosecutor’s office, State Prosecutor Charlton Howard said: “Using someone’s private images without their consent is a serious breach of trust and invasion of privacy, and the power and breadth of the internet makes such a violation even more egregious.”
Reddit’s Content Policy also states that users are not supposed to post intimate and sexually explicit media of someone without their consent. This policy is supposedly strongly enforced by the site administrators, which they are bound to suspend, remove and ban accounts of users and Reddit pages.
Bradshaw was released Monday on condition that he is to have no contact with the victim. David Deutch, Cambridge’s acting city manager said Bradshaw remains in his seat as the city’s mayor. The city’s commissioners will conduct a meeting with the city attorney to discuss circumstances of the erring mayor. They will examine the city’s charter and code regarding any options of actions that need to be taken.
A city manager functions as the town’s chief executive officer as well as the head of its administrative branch. This allows the city’s services to remain unaffected and continue serving the community. “The legal issues surrounding the mayor is a personal matter and doesn’t involve city business,” Deutch said.
Bradshaw is the youngest mayor in the history of Cambridge.
