Prosecutors want Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira to serve nearly 17 years in prison for leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine online, according to multiple reports.

Teixeira, 22, pleaded guilty in federal court in March to six counts of intentionally retaining and transmitting national defense information under the Espionage Act after admitting to illegally collecting sensitive material and posting it on Discord, a platform Social networking site popular among online gamers. .

Prosecutors said Teixeira’s actions were “one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in United States history,” according to a sentencing memorandum filed Tuesday, reported by The Associated Press.

“As a member of the United States Armed Forces and as a warrant holder, the defendant swore an oath to defend the United States and protect its secrets, secrets that are vital to the national security of the United States and the physical safety of Americans. who serve abroad. prosecutors wrote. “Teixeira violated his oath, almost every day, for more than a year.”

But Teixeira’s defense attorneys say he should not serve more than 11 years because he is “still essentially a child,” according to a memo sent to a U.S. District Court judge in Boston ahead of the service member’s sentencing. disgraced next month, as reported by ABC News.

“His conduct was clearly misguided and ill-advised, but his motives and decisions were naive, not nefarious,” attorneys Brendan Kelley and Michael Bachrach wrote.

They also said that while Teixeira’s actions were “unforgivable,” “terrible” and deserve serious consequences, he is a “juvenile delinquent” who has his entire life ahead of him.

The defense added that Teixeira is autistic and “severely stunted by his disabilities,” and an 11-year sentence “would give him more than enough time to grow and mature; informed by both his behavior and his punishment.”

Prosecutors, however, argued that Teixeira made public secrets that damaged U.S. national security and endangered Americans serving abroad.

“By posting intelligence products on the social media platform Discord to feed his own ego and impress his anonymous friends, Teixeira caused exceptionally serious harm to the national security of the United States,” they wrote. “The extent of his betrayal is stunning. “The amount of damage he caused is immeasurable.”

Teixeira’s sentencing is set for Nov. 12, more than a year and a half after he was arrested and held without bail in April 2023.

Teixeira, who was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, worked as a cyber transportation systems specialist. In that position, he was responsible for military communications networks.

His case attracted international attention when it was revealed that the Pentagon for months failed to detect his online posts of classified military information.

Prosecutors maintain that from January 2022 to April 2023, Teixeira conducted hundreds of searches in intelligence databases unrelated to his work, writing classified documents that he accessed and posting the information on Discord. Over time he began sharing direct photographs of material marked “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET.”

The leak included US assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine (including troop movements and equipment received by Ukrainian forces), as well as information about another country’s plans to harm US forces abroad.

The security breach was an embarrassment to the United States, and the Air Force subsequently disciplined 15 personnel after the service’s inspector general found numerous officials who had been aware of their suspicious behavior but failed to take necessary action.

The Pentagon also beefed up its security controls.

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