A former civilian employee of the US Air Force has received a nearly six-year prison sentence for transmitting classified information through an online dating platform. David Slater, 64, a retired lieutenant colonel in the US Army, pleaded guilty in July to charges involving the illegal sharing of sensitive information with a person who purported to be a female residing in Ukraine.
At the time of the offense, Slater was employed as a civilian at the US Strategic Command in Nebraska, an organization that oversees critical military capabilities including nuclear deterrence. The classified documents he shared contained highly sensitive material, some labeled as “top secret,” which pertained to the ongoing war in Ukraine and included details about military targets and assessments of Russian military capabilities.
On Wednesday, a federal judge in Nebraska imposed a sentence of 70 months in prison on Slater, along with a financial penalty of $25,000. The case underscores the serious consequences of unauthorized sharing of classified information, particularly as global tensions continue to escalate.
