BOSTON (Court TV) — A woman who served as a grand juror in Karen Read’s case has pleaded guilty to her own case after admitting to leaking information from the closed-door proceedings.
Karen Read listens to the testimony during her retrial at Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Jessica Leslie appeared in court on August 4 for a hearing where she entered a plea of guilty to one count of criminal contempt. In documents reviewed by Court TV, Leslie admitted to disclosing information presented to her as a grand juror to unauthorized individuals. Despite a warning to the grand jurors not to reveal what happened in the hearings, Leslie confessed to sharing the names of various witnesses who appeared, as well as the substance of their testimony.
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While the charge of criminal contempt carries a potential penalty of incarceration and a fine up to $250,000, under the terms of the plea, Leslie was sentenced to one day of imprisonment, deemed served; 24 months of supervised release and a mandatory special assessment of $100.
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Read was acquitted of nearly all charges after standing trial twice for the murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, after her first trial ended in a mistrial.
Read now faces a wrongful death civil lawsuit filed by O’Keefe’s family.
