Ex-FBI agent pleads guilty
His sentencing on the illegal disclosure charge is set for Sept. 22 in Rome.
Kenneth W. Hillman III, age 47, a former FBI agent from Dalton, has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Rome to charges of disclosing confidential information. Representatives of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Atlanta turned the case over to their counterparts in Columbia, South Carolina, for prosecution.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter Johnson, of Rome, presided over the guilty plea hearing Thursday. U.S. District Court Judge Harold L. Murphy will impose sentence Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. after he has reviewed a presentence report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented during the hearing showed that between Aug. 1, 2012, and Nov. 30, 2012, Hillman was employed as a Special Agent with the FBI in the Northern District of Georgia.
Hillman was the lead agent of the Northwest Georgia Internet Crime and Child Exploitation Task Force.
During this period of time, Hillman is alleged to have disclosed sensitive, but not classified, material to two different individuals.
One of those individuals was allowed to use an
FBI computer to conduct chats with other individuals on behalf of the Task Force.
Hillman was not authorized to divulge, disclose or make known in any manner, operations of the Task Force.
Beth Drake, United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina, said the maximum penalty for this offense is imprisonment for one year and/or a fine of $100,000.