BOSTON — A woman who served on the grand jury during the high-profile investigation into Karen Read has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of criminal contempt after leaking confidential information from the sealed proceedings, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Jessica Leslie admitted to willfully violating court rules by disclosing protected grand jury material. Federal prosecutors allege she revealed the names of witnesses, their testimony, and other evidence presented to the grand jury—despite all information being under seal and legally protected from public disclosure.
While the official filing did not name the case, sources confirmed to ABC News that the leaked information was from the grand jury that indicted Karen Read.
Read was indicted in June 2022 in connection with the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. Prosecutors claimed she struck O’Keefe with her SUV outside a fellow officer’s home in January 2022, leaving him to die in a snowstorm after a night of drinking.
Her first trial ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. In her second trial, which concluded last month, Read was acquitted of all major charges, including murder and manslaughter. She was found guilty only of operating under the influence and sentenced to one year of probation.
Leslie’s plea agreement includes a sentence of one day in custody—already served—and 24 months of supervised release. A date for the formal plea hearing has not yet been set.
Authorities have not publicly revealed how they discovered the leak, but sources familiar with the investigation indicated that social media activity and communications were being monitored closely due to the intense public interest in the case.
