BOSTON (WWLP) – A woman from Westfield entered a guilty plea in Boston Federal court Thursday after being charged in a hoax bomb incident.
Catherine Leavy, 37, called in a bomb threat to Boston Children’s Hospital on August 22, 2022. The hospital had been previously targeted with threats for their Gender Multispecialty Service (GeMS) program for gender-diverse and transgender adolescents.
According to prosecutors, the call caused the hospital and surrounding area to be put on lockdown. A bomb squad made a search and did not find evidence of any explosives.
Investigators used cell phone records and cell tower data to identify Leavy as the caller. A search of her home turned up the phone used to make the call. She admitted to making the call but said she did not intend to bomb the hospital.
Leavy was arrested in September 2022 and charged with one count of explosive materials – willfully making a false bomb threat. Sentencing is scheduled for March 19, 2024.
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