A former grand juror in the Karen Read case is expected to plead guilty to federal criminal contempt after allegedly leaking confidential grand jury information, including the names of witnesses and details of their testimony.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Jessica M. Leslie, 34, was charged on July 11 with one count of criminal contempt for violating grand jury secrecy rules while serving on the high-profile case. She has agreed to plead guilty under a deal that includes a one-day prison sentence (deemed served) and 24 months of supervised release.
Prosecutors allege that between August 2022 and March 2024, Leslie disclosed sealed information “to unauthorized individuals,” including names of witnesses, the content of their testimony, and other evidence presented to the grand jury. Although the charging document does not name Karen Read specifically, sources confirmed to ABC News that the disclosures were related to her case.
Leslie has not yet appeared in court, and a date for her plea hearing has not been scheduled.
The revelation comes less than a month after Karen Read, 45, was acquitted of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and other charges in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, who was found dead outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts, during a snowstorm in January 2022.
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Read was convicted only of operating under the influence, a lesser charge.
Prosecutors alleged she struck O’Keefe with her SUV after a night of drinking, but Read and her defense team maintained she was framed by a group of law enforcement insiders. After her mistrial in 2024, Read’s retrial began in April 2025 and ended in her acquittal on June 18.
Outside the courthouse, Read thanked her supporters.
“No one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have — and my team,” she said.
The leak by a grand juror adds another layer of controversy to a case already fraught with allegations of police misconduct, media scrutiny, and public protest.
