An investigation into the hacking of intimate images from the private online accounts of scores of female celebrities turned into a potential child abuse case last night amid allegations that one of the women affected was under-age when photographed.
Lawyers for McKayla Maroney, the US Olympic gymnast, have written to several websites, warning them not to use stolen images of her. One letter suggested that she was under 18 when photographs, later hacked, were taken.
That would mean that anybody who viewed the photographs of the athlete, who turned 18 in December, would potentially be guilty of child abuse under British and American law.
Ms Maroney was a member of the US women’s gymnastics team that took Olympic gold in London in 2012. She was one of several celebrities to have had nude images hacked from servers run by Apple. Others include Jennifer Lawrence, the Hollywood actress, and Kate Upton, the model.
The athlete had dismissed the images of her as fake. It is not known whether the photographs were doctored.
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The FBI has opened an investigation into the theft of hundreds images and videos. Apple said: “None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in Apple’s systems, including iCloud or Find my iPhone.”