Cambridge mayor released from custody; faces 50 revenge porn distribution charges
CAMBRIDGE — Following his arrest on Nov. 15, Cambridge mayor Andrew Bradshaw was released from police custody on his own recognizance later Monday.
Senior assistant state prosecutor Letam Duson from the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor and Bradshaw’s defense attorney William Hall agreed to Bradshaw being released on his own recognizance during a bail review Monday afternoon.
Bradshaw, 32, was arrested Monday morning after a criminal information charging him with 50 counts of distribution of revenge porn was filed in the Dorchester County Circuit Court.
As a special condition of his release, Bradshaw is barred from using any form of social media, but will have to allow state police and other designated individuals to have access to his devices and accounts as they continue their investigation. He will also have to check in with the county detention center at least once a week as part of his pretrial supervision.
The charges stem from a complaint made in May 2021 by a woman, identified as Victim 1, who was previously in an intimate romantic relationship with Bradshaw. The alleged victim told police that she discovered nude photos of herself posted on Reddit beginning in April 2021 without her knowledge or consent.
According to the charging document, the
Reddit photos of the victim contained racial slurs and sexually explicit language.
The photos were posted by various accounts with usernames hinting at the name and birthdate of Victim 1 and were reposted to various “subreddits,” or topicbased forums, with content focused on sexual activity, humiliation, degradation, race and other related items.
Maryland laws on revenge porn prohibit the nonconsensual distribution of a private visual representation of another which exposes their intimate body parts or displays them engaged in sexual activity, with the intent to harm, harass, intimidate, threaten or coerce the person depicted, according to a release from the Office of the State Prosecutor.
If convicted, Bradshaw could face a maximum penalty of two years and a $5,000 fine for each misdemeanor count.
A scheduling conference for future hearing and trial dates will be held on Dec. 6.
The Office of the State Prosecutor and Bradshaw’s defense attorney declined to comment on the case following the bail review.
Cambridge City Council president Lajan Cephas is
sued the following statement on Bradshaw’s arrest:
“The City is aware of the matter involving the Mayor. The City is currently gathering information and will cooperate fully with the Maryland State Police and the Office of the State Prosecutor. As the City has a council-manager form of municipal government whereby the City Manager serves as the chief executive officer of the City and the head of its administrative branch, the business of the City is unaffected. As this is an active legal matter, no further comments will be made at this time.”
Bradshaw’s arrest and subsequent charges are new updates to a story that began three months ago when a search and seizure warrant was executed on the mayor’s home and offices in city hall on Aug. 4.
Bradshaw took office as the mayor of Cambridge in January 2021, making history as the city’s youngest mayor.