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Associated Press

A former US intelligence officer convicted of trying to pass defence information to China was solemn as he was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison and said he “would give anything” to change his actions.
Ron Rockwell Hansen, 60, wearing a grey jumpsuit, apologised in a trembling voice to his family and former colleagues for “pain and damage” he caused.
“Your honour there simply are no words to accurately and fully express the depth of regret I have for my decisions and actions … I am so sorry,” he told the judge in Salt Lake City.
“I would give anything to go back and change this. Anything.”
Hansen’s statement was punctuated by muffled cries from his family and friends who packed the courtroom and held hands during the hearing.
In March, Hansen pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to gather or deliver national defence information to aid a foreign government.
Former US intelligence officer is accused of spying for China, arrested on his way to Seattle airport
The Syracuse, Utah, resident was approached by foreign agents while he was working as a contractor for the US government in China.
Authorities say they offered him hundreds of thousands of dollars if he would pass along technology and information about US military and intelligence issues.
Hansen had spent more than 20 years in the US Army, including time with the Defence Intelligence Agency.

He left the military in 2006 and spent several months as a civilian case officer with the agency.
Several years after he left the US government, Hanson told authorities he attended trade conferences on behalf of China and shared information he gathered with officials connected to Chinese intelligence.
Charging documents allege he transferred forensic software worth several thousand dollars, in violation of export controls.
Prosecutors claimed he was paid as much as US$800,000 over several years.
He was arrested in June 2018 on his way to a Washington airport, where prosecutors say he planned to board a flight to China.
Hansen is one of three former American intelligence officers convicted in recent months on charges of espionage on behalf of China.
One of them, Kevin Patrick Mallory, a former CIA agent, was sentenced in May to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to transmit US defence secrets to China.
Another, Hongkonger Jerry Chun Shing Lee, a former CIA officer, pleaded guilty to charges of spying for China and is awaiting sentencing.
US District Judge Dee Benson reduced the 15-year sentence called for in plea agreement after considering Hansen’s cooperation with investigators.
“He has tried to do what he can to make things right,” Benson said.
“It’s a very serious crime that speaks for itself, and we’re all sorry it happened.”
Assistant US Attorney Robert Lund said the information Hansen provided will help US officials assess how foreign agents target Americans.
Don Hansen, the defendant’s older brother, said the reduced sentence was better than his family was expecting.
The judge also recommended five years of supervised release following prison time.
“We’re pleased Ron recognised his mistake and we’re ready to move on as a family … we’re looking forward to moving out of the limelight,” he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Espionage

Ex-US intelligence officer Ron Rockwell Hansen ‘so sorry’ as he gets 10 years in Chinese espionage case

Ron Rockwell Hansen admitted he betrayed his country for financial gain. Photo: AP

***ONE TIME USE ONLY, PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE RE-USE - OTUO*** --ONLINE-- This undated handout photo of former CIA agent Jerry Chun Shing Lee. Photo: HANDOUT

Former US intelligence officer is accused of spying for China, arrested on his way to Seattle airport

The headquarters of the US Defence Intelligence Agency. Photo: US Department of Defence

FILE - In this Monday, April 4, 2016, file photo, a Virgin America plane taxis past an Alaska Airlines plane waiting at a gate, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. Alaska said Wednesday, March 22, 2017, that it will retire the Virgin brand, probably in 2019. Alaska announced in 2016, that it was buying Virgin, but CEO Brad Tilden held out hope to Virgin fans that he might keep the Virgin America brand, and run it and Alaska as separate airlines under the same corporate umbrella. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

A pilot checks messages on a blackberry phone as he makes his way to a flight at SeaTac Airport in Seattle, Washington April 16, 2009. REUTERS/Mike Blake (UNITED STATES TRANSPORT BUSINESS IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE)

Ex-CIA officer Kevin Mallory convicted of selling secrets to China for US$25,000 despite claims he was a triple-agent

The Chinese gave Mallory a Samsung cellphone for covert communication that was activated with the password ‘password’, and which failed to delete incriminating messages

FBI agents raid the home of Kevin Mallory outside Washington in 2017. Photo: ABC 7

Hong Kong resident Jerry Chun Shing Lee, an ex-CIA officer, pleads guilty to spying for China

Jerry Chun Shing Lee is one of three former intelligence officers accused of spying for China in the past two years. Photo: Handout

epa06446822 (FILE) - A worker at the CIA sweeping the foyer clean at the CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia, USA, 03 March 2005(reissued 17 January 2018). Reports state on 17 January 2018 state that former CIA officer, Hong Kong resident, Jerry Chun Shing Lee, has been arrested in the US on charges of unlawful retention of classified information. Lee, a naturalised US citizen also known as Zhen Cheng Li, made an appearance in a New York federal court on 16 January 2018. Lee it is alleged leaked the names of US agents to the Chinese authorities. EPA-EFE/DENNIS BRACK / POOL *** Local Caption *** 50527312

=== Picture Reproduced from https://hk.thevalue.com/ === Arrested ex-CIA agent suspended from security job at Christie's Hong Kong. Photo: The Value.

‘My object is to be paid’: ex-CIA officer Kevin Mallory jailed for 20 years for spying for China in exchange for US$25,000

Kevin Mallory in a photo from his LinkedIn profile. On the right, FBI agents can be seen raiding his home near Washington in 2017. Photo: LinkedIn/Fox News

(FILES) This file photo taken on August 13, 2008 shows a man walking over the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the lobby of CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The CIA can turn your TV into a listening device, bypass popular encryption apps, and possibly control your car, according to a trove of alleged documents from the US spy agency released on March 7, 2017 by WikiLeaks. The group posted nearly 9,000 documents it said were leaked from the Central Intelligence Agency, in what it described as the largest-ever publication of secret intelligence materials. / AFP PHOTO / AFP FILES / SAUL LOEB

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Ron Rockwell Hansen is one of three former American intelligence officers convicted in recent months on charges of espionage on behalf of China



Ron Rockwell Hansen attempted to pass classified US national defence information to China, and admitted to receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars as an agent for Beijing.


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