A judge has rejected the plea deals for a former US Navy engineer and his wife, arguing that their suggested prison sentences were too forgiving following their guilty pleas to conspire to sell nuclear submarine secrets to a foreign state.
Six months ago, Jonathan Toebbe, 43, and his wife Diana Toebbe, 46, based in Annapolis, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the charges and agreed to plea agreements that would have seen Toebbe spend between 12.5 and 17.5 years behind bars and for his wife to face three years in prison, according to The Baltimore Sun.
US District Court Judge Gina Groh of the Northern District of West Virginia said that the suggested penalties were “not in the best interest” of the US.
The couple withdrew their guilty pleas with Judge Groh scheduling a new trial date for 17 January, but the paper reported that prosecutors will probably agree on a new plea agreement with the defendants before that time.
A naval officer with a top-secret security clearance, Jonathan Toebbe had been involved in projects connected to nuclear submarines since 2012.
These booking photos released Oct. 9, 2021, by the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority show Jonathan Toebbe and his wife, Diana Toebbe.
(AP)
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