WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd August, 2018) A Georgia woman has been sentenced to more than five years in jail for sending classified national defense material she worked with to a news organization, the US Department of Justice said in a press release on Thursday.
"Reality Winner, 26, of Augusta, Georgia, was sentenced today to five years and three months in prison for removing classified national defense material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet," the release said.
Winner was arrested by the FBI at her home in Augusta, on June 3, 2017, and later agreed to plead guilty to the one-count indictment charging her with unlawful retention and transmission of national defense information, the Justice Department said.
"This defendant used her position of trust to steal and divulge closely guarded intelligence information. Her betrayal of the United States put at risk sources and methods of intelligence gathering, thereby offering advantage to our adversaries," US Attorney Bobby Christine said.
Winner was a contractor assigned to a US government agency facility in Georgia. She had been employed at the facility since on or about February 13, 2017, and held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented (SCI) clearance.
Previously, Winner served in the US Air Force from 2010-2016.
