SALISBURY, Md. - WBOC has obtained communications between Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano and Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis centered around allegations of “revenge porn” and “nude selfies” in a recently reemerged dispute between the two in 2024.
As WBOC’s Anthony Evangelista previously reported, Wicomico County Executive Giordano held a press conference on Wednesday, June 11, to address allegations that she had sent inappropriate photos to sheriff’s deputies. Her remarks followed a news report from WBFF-TV out of Baltimore claiming Sheriff Mike Lewis had sent Giordano a letter telling her to stop sending nude photos to deputies, a claim she also refuted.
“These allegations are false,” Giordano said Wednesday. “The alleged photographs have never been produced because they do not exist. And as county executive, I have never sent inappropriate photographs to a deputy or to anybody else.”
Now, documents obtained through a Maryland Public Information Act request have shed further light on the scandal’s origins while illustrating a sharp contrast between the two elected leader’s accounts regarding the allegations. While WBOC’s initial MPIA request was initially denied in 2024, a new request submitted on Thursday was promptly fulfilled.
County Executive’s letter
WBOC is now in possession of a letter Giordano sent to Lewis on Sept. 12, 2024. In that letter, Giordano requested a formal investigation into what she described as the alleged sharing of pornographic images of her by one of the sheriff's deputies.
Giordano wrote that she believed a deputy had shared an image of her and claimed Lewis had acknowledged possessing such an image. She argued that no member of the sheriff's office or any other law enforcement agency had permission to possess or distribute intimate images or videos of her.
"This matter is straightforward: either a deputy shared a nude photograph of me, or they did not," Giordano wrote.
Giordano went on to ask Lewis to pursue an investigation and possible criminal charges against anyone responsible for what she referred to as “revenge porn,” according to the letter.
“My personal attorney and I look forward to an update on the situation by the end of the month,” Giordano wrote.
Sheriff’s response
Weeks later, on October 4, 2024, Lewis sent a withering response.
In his letter, Lewis disputed Giordano's characterization of the situation and wrote that the images in question were self-created nude selfies. Lewis said he was prepared to testify about how a deputy gained possession of the images and stated that he had never possessed the photographs on his own phone.
"These nude selfies were never forwarded to my cellphone, and I've never been in possession of these self-created pornographic images," Lewis wrote.
The Sheriff also wrote that because his office was involved in the matter, he would have to seek an outside investigation through either the Maryland State Police or the Office of the State Prosecutor.
“Of course, once the investigation is concluded, you will no longer be able to deny to your own administration or to the citizens of Wicomico County that these photos not only [exist], but so do your text messages, phone logs, and other video evidence detailing your activities and life as Wicomico County Executive,” Lewis wrote.
Lewis concluded his letter asking for further guidance from the County Executive on what investigative measures she would like him to take, asking for a response within 14 days.
Six days later, Giordano responded to Lewis via email saying, “While I find your fictitious, victim shaming rhetoric completely disgusting, I am not surprised,” according to records obtained by WBOC. Giordano said she would no longer correspond with Lewis regarding the matter and her attorney would handle it from that point.
No investigation
According to WBFF-TV, Wicomico County attorney Andre Illuminati confirmed this week that there is no evidence the images in question still exist and there is no active investigation being conducted by the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office. The matter has also not been referred to an outside agency, Illuminati told the Baltimore outlet.
It is currently unclear why the 2024 feud recently resurfaced or who or what spurred the Baltimore outlet’s investigation into it, though it should be noted both Giordano and Lewis are up for reelection this year.
WBOC has reached out to both Giordano and Lewis for comment regarding the newly obtained correspondence. Sheriff Mike Lewis said he would not comment on the matter and Executive Julie Giordano did not respond to our requests Thursday.
Both letters from Giordano and Lewis have been attached to this article.
