Karen Read grand juror who leaked witness information loses job with state DCF
A former grand juror who admitted to leaking witness information with connections to the Karen Read circumstance has lost her job with the state Department of Children and Families according to her attorney Keith Halpern representing Jessica Leslie of Dracut has shared that his client s employment with DCF was in recent months terminated just days before she is scheduled to be sentenced in Boston federal court A DCF spokesperson approved to the Herald that Leslie is no longer employed by the agency Due to state confidentiality requirements the agency is barred from commenting on the specifics of personnel matters Leslie pleaded guilty last month to one felony count of criminal contempt in the U S District Court for the District of Massachusetts for leaking information from her time as a grand juror in two cases from May to February Halpern is requesting as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors that Judge Indira Talwani sentence Leslie to one day deemed served which would conclusion in no prison time for the former grand juror The sentencing is set for next Thursday Leslie admitted to sharing information from grand jury proceedings with a person she explained prosecutors she was good friends with who then posted information on an X account The leaks occurred from Aug and March and included the names of observers testimony given and evidence presented In his sentencing memorandum Halpern stated Leslie began working at DCF in before pursuing and obtaining a master s degree which helped her earn a promotion to a supervisor position this past May Not long after the communications to her friend she was promoted to a supervisor position achieving a goal she d worked towards for a large number of years Halpern wrote in the memo filed on Thursday She in recent times was terminated the attorney added Her career path illustrates her commitment to her work her commitment to helping families in need and what she has lost According to state payroll records Leslie had earned in up until her termination Last year the social worker took home In her supervisory role Leslie oversaw up to five social workers including monthly unit meetings individual supervision and ongoing patronage and collaboration with the social workers on their affair management according to Halpern She d achieved her goal and had a job she loved Halpern wrote Now it s gone Prior to this occurrence Ms Leslie had never been charged with a crime he added What she has already gone through and what she will have to deal with in the future due to the loss of her job sends a clear message that the violation of grand jury secrecy is a serious offense and risks wholly upending one s life Though the grand jury investigations in question have not been revealed in the court proceedings or documents several media outlets have released one of the cases related to the state police s handling of the death of John O Keefe and the review of Karen Read citing unnamed sources A jury in Read s second trial cleared the defendant in June of killing O Keefe her Boston police officer boyfriend of two years at the time with her SUV Doreen DiCienzo a supervisor at the Cape Ann DCF office in Beverly disclosed in a letter she submitted to the court that she met Leslie on the first day of her employment in DiCienzo highlighted that Leslie was balancing the demands of her job attending graduate school and going through a divorce at the time she was selected as a grand juror There has never been a time I was concerned of her latest confidentiality in any of the cases that she was assigned DiCienzo declared of Leslie I was never concerned about the accuracy of her verbal reports to me and her written documentation Jessica has reliably presented herself with goals determination and drive DiCienzo added The situation that she faces in the present is what I would characterize as thoroughly out of character
