Grand Juror in Karen Read Case Faces Criminal Charge

A Massachusetts woman who served on the grand jury in the widely watched Karen Read case has admitted to leaking confidential information, according to federal prosecutors. Jessica Leslie has agreed to plead guilty to criminal contempt for violating court rules on grand jury secrecy, ABC News reports. Authorities say Leslie shared names of witnesses, details of their testimony, and other evidence while the information was still under seal.

Though court documents do not identify the specific case, sources confirmed Leslie's role in the grand jury that indicted Karen Read in 2022 to ABC and the Boston Globe. Read had been charged with killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, whom prosecutors alleged she struck with her car after a night of drinking and left in a blizzard. The first trial ended in mistrial; a second jury last month cleared Read of murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene. She was found guilty only of a drunk-driving charge and received a year of probation.

Leslie's plea deal calls for a single day in custody, which is considered already served, and two years of supervised release. No date for her plea hearing has been set. Prosecutors have not disclosed how they discovered the leak, but sources say law enforcement had been keeping tabs on social media and other communications amid the case's heavy public scrutiny.