A US Air Force contractor has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release for stealing classified documents, in addition to conspiracy to commit naturalisation fraud.

Christopher R. Glenn, 34, a South Florida resident, was sent down by District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, of the Southern District of Florida.

Glenn had pleaded guilty to the wilful retention of classified national defence information under the Espionage Act, computer intrusion under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, as well as conspiracy to commit naturalisation fraud.

Court records show that while working as a sysadmin at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras, Glenn accessed a classified Department of Defence network without authorisation and removed classified national defense information.

The information Glenn removed from the DoD and U.S. Southern Command's (SOUTHCOM's) Joint Task Force-Bravo (JTF-B) included intelligence reports and military plans.

The JTF-B is responsible for conducting military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean, in order to achieve "US national security objectives".

"Christopher Glenn exploited his position as a cleared military contractor and systems administrator to steal classified U.S. military secrets," said assistant attorney general Carlin.

"In doing so, he violated the unique trust placed in him by the Department of Defense. Insider threats by trusted employees who exploit computer access are a significant danger to U.S. national security and this sentencing shows it will not be tolerated." added Carlin.

Glenn also conspired with his wife, Khadraa A. Glenn, 28, an Iraqi-born Australian citizen, to commit naturalisation fraud "for her benefit by fabricating fraudulent documents and submitting false statements and the documents to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)."

Mrs Glenn had previously pleaded guilty to naturalization fraud conspiracy and was sentenced on 7 October, 2014.