Juror in Karen Read Case to Plead Guilty to Violating Grand Jury Secrecy
Jessica M. Leslie, 34, will plead guilty to federal criminal contempt for leaking sealed grand jury information, including witness names and testimony, related to the Karen Read case
Leslie's plea deal includes a one day prison sentence, deemed served, and 24 months of supervised release
The plea news comes shortly after Read's acquittal on murder and manslaughter charges in the death of her boyfriend and Boston police officer John O'KeefeA woman on the grand jury in the high-profile Karen Read case will plead guilty to a federal charge after prosecutors claim she leaked the names of witnesses to the public while that information was under seal.
Jessica M. Leslie, 34, was charged on Friday, July 11, with one count of criminal contempt and has agreed to plead guilty to the charge, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a press release.
She will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston at a later date and a plea hearing has yet to be scheduled.
According to the charging document obtained by PEOPLE, Leslie allegedly 'disclosed information presented to the grand jury to unauthorized individuals' between Aug. 11, 2022 and March 4, 2024.
That information includes, 'the names of various witnesses appearing before the grand jury and the substance of their testimony and other evidence presented to the grand jury, all while said information was under seal and not subject to disclosure,' the charging document states.
While the charging document does not mention Karen Read, sources confirmed to ABC News that the charge is related to that case.
According to the plea agreement obtained by PEOPLE, Leslie agreed to a sentence of one day in prison, deemed served, and 24 months of supervised release.
The plea news comes nearly a month after Read, 45, was acquitted of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and other related offenses in connection with the 2022 death of her boyfriend John O'Keefe. She was, however, found guilty of operating under the influence.
She was accused of killing her boyfriend of two years, who was a Boston police officer, by drunkenly running him over after a night out together in January 2022. After her arrest, Read pleaded not guilty to all charges and staunchly maintained her innocence, saying she was the target of a law enforcement cover-up.
Read was originally tried in 2024, but it ended in a mistrial in July of that year after the jury couldn't reach a verdict. She faced her second trial beginning in April 2025.
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After she was acquitted of the most serious charges on June 18, Read addressed her supporters outside the courthouse in Dedham, Mass.
'I would not be standing here without these amazing supporters who have supported me and my team financially and more importantly, emotionally," Read said as the crowd erupted into more cheers and applause, PEOPLE previously reported.
She added, "No one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have — and my team."
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