Jennifer Lawrence Nude Photo Hacker Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison

— -- A hacker associated with the widespread online release of nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Kaley Cuoco and Kirsten Dunst, among others, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on Wednesday, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.

Ryan Collins -- whose leaks of photographs of numerous Hollywood stars in 2014 became known as “The Fappening” or “Celebgate,” pleaded guilty in March to one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information.

According to authorities, the 36-year-old Lancaster, Pennsylvania, resident, engaged in a phishing scheme from November 2012 to September 2014, during which he obtained his victims’ usernames and passwords. Collins would then send emails that seemed to be from Apple or Google, asking them to provide information. When the victims responded, Collins accessed their accounts and obtained personal information, including nude photographs and videos.

Collins allegedly accessed at least 50 iCloud accounts and 72 Gmail accounts, mostly belonging to female celebrities.

The case against Collins stems from the investigation into the leaks of photographs of numerous Hollywood stars, although investigators reportedly didn't uncover any evidence linking Collins to the actual leaks, or evidence that Collins shared or uploaded the information he obtained. Collins could have received up to five years in prison.

Collins' attorney, Casey Shore of Perry Shore Weisenberger & Zemlock, told ABC News today that his client "takes full responsibility for his actions and would like to apologize to the victims for his immature behavior and lack of judgment."

"Although Mr. Collins did not forward, share, or seek financial gain from any of the images that came into his possession, he completely understands the pain that was suffered by the victims," Shore added.

ABC News' Lesley Messer contributed to this report.