AN employee from the Republic's Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has been sentenced to 11 months in prison for leaking sensitive information about a garda investigation.
Jonathan Lennon, a 35-year-old father-of-three from Clonee in Dublin, was convicted last month on four charges of disclosing information to three men about the arrest of a suspect in connection with the murder of Peter Butterly, who was killed in Co Meath in 2013 during an internal IRA feud.
During the trial in Dublin, Lennon had admitted having a "nosey" into the murder file but denied breaking the Official Secrets Act by disclosing information about the investigation.
The court found he had read a letter from the DPP's office which had referred to five suspects in the case, and concluded that the accused had tipped off a third party about the imminent arrest of another man.
Lennon, who worked in the post-room of the DPP's office, was yesterday sentenced to 11 months in prison.
He was released from custody after lodging an appeal to the Circuit Court.
