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Jepsen hacker: house arrest, maybe

Son of longtime 91原创 Township councillor to be sentenced on Sept. 13 for online harassment of pop star.
59688langleyCarly-Rae-Jepsen-Photo
Carly Rae Jepsen was harassed online by a stalker who took over her social media accounts. The man behind the harassment turns out to Chris Long, son of Township councillor Bob Long.

The former boyfriend of Carly Rae Jepsen said he and the pop superstar lived in fear when they discovered that someone had hacked her email and social media accounts and gained access to materials that included two 鈥渉ighly personal鈥 photos.

鈥淚t was scary. It was really scary,鈥 said Jordi Ashworth of the incidents that occurred in early 2012.

Ashworth was present at Abbotsford provincial court on Friday, when the sentencing hearing was held for Christopher David Long, 25.

Long is the son of long-time Township councillor Bob Long. Now living in Abbotsford, Long went to Aldergrove Community Secondary School.

Bob Long is standing behind his son.

鈥淲e all make mistakes and I know that Chris is extremely regretful for what has occurred,鈥 said Long in a statement to The Times.

鈥淗e gave a sincere apology in the courtroom and his family are committed to love him, stand by him and support him as he grows through this difficult time in his life.鈥

Long pleaded guilty in May of this year to possession of stolen property and mischief to data.

At Friday鈥檚 hearing, Crown counsel Rob Macgowan recommended Long serve a four-month conditional sentence (house arrest) followed by one year probation.

Defence lawyer Martin Finch asked Judge Jill Rounthwaite to consider a conditional discharge.

Rounthwaite has reserved her decision until Friday, Sept. 13.

At the time of the offences, Jepsen and Ashworth were living together in Vancouver.

Ashworth, who often monitored Jepsen鈥檚 social media and email accounts at her request, discovered that some of the passwords had been changed in early March 2012.

Vulgar postings were made on Jepsen鈥檚 Facebook and Instagram accounts.

On March 22, Jepsen, who was on tour, discovered she could no longer make or receive calls on her cellphone, and she received a series of calls from a blocked number.

The worried couple reported the issues to the Vancouver Police Department, which launched a four-month investigation.

This included Ashworth communicating via email with the then-unknown hacker.

In one exchange, the hacker wrote, 鈥淪top trying to take this account back. I am extremely capable of doing many things so leave it at that.鈥

Police identified a suspect in July after fake online images and a phony sex tape were released online.

Police were able to trace the sender鈥檚 IP address to Long鈥檚 residence in Abbotsford. He then confessed to police.

It was determined that Long registered an email account that had previously been used by Jepsen but was inactive.

He then used that account to gain access to her current email and password, which led to him accessing the passwords to her social media sites, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Long downloaded material from Jepsen鈥檚 email account that included her recording contract, tour schedule, two song recordings and several photos, including two between her and Ashworth that were of a 鈥渟ensitive and highly personal nature,鈥 according to Macgowan.

Long, using a newly created email account and an alias, then sent the two photos to TMZ 鈥 a celebrity gossip website and television series 鈥 suggesting possibly selling them.

He also contacted a phone company to have Jepsen鈥檚 cellphone number changed.

Macgowan said Jepsen and Ashworth lived in fear because they did not know whether the hacker intended to harm them or to damage Jepsen鈥檚 career.

鈥(The) sense of violation and invasion of privacy 鈥 cannot be understated, (sic)鈥 Macgowan said.

Finch acknowledged that this client exercised poor judgment in his actions, and said they arose 鈥渙ut of stupid high jinks among friends.鈥

A big-screen TV with a computer attached is located in Long鈥檚 residence, and the initial hacking was done with friends present, Finch said.

He said Long, a sales manager at a car dealership, got caught up in the 鈥減rank鈥 and the fascination of dealing with a celebrity.

He referenced letters of support from family and colleagues who described Long as 鈥渄ependable with positive leadership skills,鈥 someone with a 鈥渉igh degree of integrity and ambition,鈥 and 鈥渆xtremely intelligent and willing to help others.鈥

In a statement in the court, Long addressed Ashworth.

鈥淚 would like to apologize in the most profound way I can express for any harm and embarrassment I may have caused you and Ms. Jepsen,鈥 he said.

Jepsen, originally from Mission, is a former Canadian Idol finalist who was propelled to international stardom with her hit song Call Me Maybe.

鈥 with files from 91原创 Times reporter Monique Tamminga



Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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