A former military contractor pleaded guilty to charges under the Espionage Act for accessing a classified Defense Department network and downloading files from a Joint Task Force commander’s account.
Christopher Glenn, 34, a former contractor with Harris Corporation, pleaded Friday to willful retention of classified national defense information and one count of computer intrusion.
While working as a computer systems administrator at the Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras in 2012, Glenn accessed classified files belonging to the DoD and U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Task Force Bravo, which is based there. He then made a copy of the files, which he kept illegally.
According to the indictment, Glenn copied eight SECRET level files, including three seminars, four information papers outlining key issues on Mid-East countries and an email on the security of U.S. personnel in Iraq.
“The Cold War may be over, but espionage, spies trying to steal our nation’s most valuable secrets are still at it,” said Special Agent in Charge George Piro. “More than ever, the FBI remains vigilant to protect critical national secrets and assets.”
“Systems administrators occupy a place of unique trust in an organization due to their extensive access to the cyber systems they maintain,” said Assistant Attorney General John Carlin. “With today’s plea, Mr. Glenn is being held accountable for his violation of that trust.”
Glenn also admitted to falsifying documents submitted to Citizenship and Immigration Services on behalf of his wife, Khadraa Glenn, and plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit naturalization fraud.
Khadraa Glenn, 28, pleaded guilty and was sentenced for naturalization fraud conspiracy in October.
Glenn is set to be sentenced for all three charges on April 17, when he will face a maximum 25 years in prison and six years of supervised release.
