Catherine Leavy, 37, was sentenced in federal court for calling in a hoax bomb threat against Boston Children's Hospital in 2022.
Ms. Leavy received a sentence of three years' probation from U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin, according to a July 22 news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Ms. Leavy had pleaded guilty in September 2024 to one count of making a false bomb threat and one count of intentionally conveying false or misleading information about a bomb being en route to Boston Children's Hospital. The incident, which occurred on Aug. 30, 2022, led to a significant law enforcement response and lockdown of the hospital and its surroundings.
The bomb threat was received via a phone call in which the caller stated, "There is a bomb on the way to the hospital. You better evacuate everybody, you sickos." A thorough investigation by law enforcement, which included tracking subscriber and call detail records, determined that the phone used to make the threat was registered to Ms. Leavy. Additionally, cell tower data indicated that the phone was near her residence at the time the threat was made.
The investigation and subsequent search of Ms. Leavy's residence on Sept. 15, 2022, led to the recovery of the phone used in the threat. During an on-scene interview, Ms. Leavy admitted to making the bomb threat but claimed she had no actual intention of bombing the hospital. According to the release, she also expressed her disapproval of Boston Children's Hospital multiple times during the interview.
The threat came amid a period when law enforcement was closely monitoring threats against Boston Children's Hospital and its employees, partly due to the hospital's gender multispecialty service program, which focuses on gender-diverse and transgender adolescents.