A photographer convicted of attempting to sell topless pictures of actress Cameron Diaz after forging her signature on a contract has been sentenced to almost four years in prison.
John Rutter was found guilty of attempted grand theft, forgery and perjury in July, after being accused of trying to blackmail the actress after she shot to fame.
The 43-year-old photographer claimed that he did not know that Diaz had not signed the release forms for the photographs and believed the signature on the papers to be genuine.
He denied the blackmail allegations, saying that he was offering the actress the chance to buy the photographs in order to keep them from public circulation.
Rutter asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor for probation, claiming that the case was the result of a misunderstanding.
The judge later sentenced him to three years and eight months in prison. Diaz was not in court for the sentencing.
