NEBRASKA - A civilian employed with the United States Air Force was charged with disclosing classified defence information to a woman he met on a foreign online dating platform, said the Justice Department on March 4.

David Franklin Slater, 63, was taken into custody in Nebraska on March 1 on a three-count federal indictment. He pleaded not guilty in an initial court appearance on March 5.

The indictment accuses Slater of giving classified material by e-mail and online messages about the Russia-Ukraine war to someone claiming to be a woman living in Ukraine.

That person, who called Slater her “secret agent” and “secret informant love”, was not identified by name in the indictment.

The indictment showed her asking him several questions, including whether the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and US President Joe Biden had any plans to help Ukraine.

In one, she asked: “Dear, what is shown on the screens in the special room? It is very interesting.”

Slater, who retired as a lieutenant-colonel in the US Army before joining the Air Force as a civilian employee, was assigned to US Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, the Justice Department said.

It added that he held a top secret security clearance sometime between August 2021 and April 2022.

It is alleged that he attended classified meetings and informed his paramour, including information about military targets and Russia’s military capabilities.

If he is convicted, Slater faces up to 10 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to US$250,000 (S$333,745) on each of the three counts in the indictment. REUTERS