Baby-faced Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira, who outraged Washington D.C. by exposing national security secrets about the war in Ukraine, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Judge Indira Talwani imposed the tough sentence in a Boston federal court on Tuesday. Teixeira, 22, had pled guilty to transmitting national security secrets in violation of the Espionage Act.

Judge sentences Pentagon leaker

The former Massachusetts Air National Guardsman abused his security clearance to steal and copy the classified documents starting in January 2022. He shared the files with friends on the app Discord.

The documents shed light on troop movements in Ukraine and the shipment of U.S. equipment to the country. Congress has sent billions of dollars' worth of weapons to support Ukraine against Russia's invasion.

Some Republicans defended Teixeira, arguing he was exposing truth about America's commitment to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Prosecutors accused Teixeira of betraying his oath to impress his online friends. They called his leaks "one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history."

They called for Teixeira to face the maximum punishment of 200 months, over 16 years.

“As both a member of the United States Armed Forces and a clearance holder, the defendant took an oath to defend the United States and to protect its secrets — secrets that are vital to US national security and the physical safety of Americans serving overseas,” prosecutors told the judge. “Teixeira violated his oath, almost every day, for over a year," they said.

Facing court martial

His lawyers pleaded for an 11-year sentence, describing Teixeira as a child who wanted to "educate" his friends. Teixeira was diagnosed with ADHD and autism after his arrest at his mother's Massachusetts home in April 2023.

“Jack is still essentially a child – at the very least, a ‘youthful offender’ – who has his whole life in front of him,” his lawyers wrote.

"To Jack, the Ukraine war was his generation’s World War II or Iraq, and he needed someone to share the experience with."

Teixeira will serve three years of supervised released when his prison sentence is finished. He is also facing a court martial in March for violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Prosecutors Tuesday said the sentencing should send a warning about exposing national security secrets.

"I expect that starting tomorrow, Jack Teixeira's name will be mentioned when people are trained about the gravity of a top-secret clearance and the consequences if you leak information," Joshua S. Levy, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said.