A former grand juror accused of leaking witness data with reported connections to the Karen Learn case pleaded responsible to prison contempt in federal court docket Tuesday.
Jessica Leslie, 34, of Dracut, pleaded responsible to 1 felony rely of prison contempt within the U.S. District Courtroom for the District of Massachusetts, for leaking data from her time as a grand juror in two instances from Could 2022 to Feb. 2024.
Within the plea deal, prosecutors advisable a sentence of at some point, to be deemed served, and 24 months of supervised launch. Decide Indira Talwani mentioned she should reject the advisable sentence, permitting Leslie to withdraw her plea.
Leslie admitted to sharing data from grand jury proceedings with an individual she instructed prosecutors she “was good friends with,” who then posted data on an X account. The leaks occurred from Aug. 11, 2022 and March 4, 2024, and included the names of witnesses, testimony given and proof offered, in line with the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the District of Massachusetts.
Although the grand jury investigations in query haven’t been revealed within the court docket proceedings or paperwork, a number of media shops have reported one of many instances associated to the state police’s dealing with of the loss of life of John O’Keefe and investigation of Karen Learn, citing unnamed sources.
Within the prosecution’s factual foundation for the plea offered in court docket Monday, Assistant U.S. Legal professional Anne Paruti mentioned Leslie was initially impaneled as a member of a grand jury on Could 26, 2022. The jury issued an indictment in that case on Jan. 25, 2024, which was unsealed on Jan. 30, Paruti mentioned.
The indictment charged six people with extortion, mail fraud, falsification of data, false statements, perjury and conspiracy, Paruti mentioned.
The timeline and particulars of the case match the publicized indictment of an lively Massachusetts State Police sergeant and trooper, two retired troopers, and two civilians for accused of buying and selling favors in alternate for unearned industrial drivers licenses in 2024.
Leslie was then convened once more on Feb. 1, 2024 to “to hear evidence in an unrelated investigation, which is no longer active,” Paruti mentioned. The second case could be allegedly associated to the Karen Learn investigation, although court docket proceedings Monday once more didn’t affirm the case’s topic.
A prosecutor within the Karen Learn case confirmed {that a} earlier federal investigation into the dealing with of John O’Keefe’s loss of life was closed throughout court docket proceedings in March forward of the defendant’s second trial.
The prosecution mentioned they got specific permission from the U.S. Legal professional’s workplace in Boston to reveal that the federal case, which got here to gentle throughout early pre-trial hearings and witness questioning within the Learn case, had been closed.
Leslie is scheduled to return to court docket for sentencing on Sept. 26.
