(CNN) -- The man accused of hacking celebrities' online accounts -- from which private images were ultimately posted on the Internet -- says he became "addicted" to the intrusion and "didn't know how to stop."
"I deeply apologize. I know what I did was probably one of the worst invasions of privacy someone could experience," Christopher Chaney told CNN affiliate WAWS in Jacksonville, Florida, Wednesday.
"And these people don't have privacy to begin with. And I was in that little sliver of privacy they do have."
Federal authorities accuse the 35-year-old of hacking into accounts on computers and other devices belonging to more than 50 people, including movie stars Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis and singer Christina Aguilera.
Chaney was indicted on charges of accessing protected computers without authorization, damaging protected computers, wiretapping and aggravated identity theft, officials said.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Chaney was able to access nude photos of some of the celebrities and some of them were uploaded on the Internet," U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said Wednesday.
A recently circulated nude photo of Johannsson is part of the investigation, he said.