Ex-employee of U.S. State Department sentenced for snooping of presidential candidates' passport files

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A former employee of the U.S. State Department has been sentenced for snooping of passport files of President Barack Obama and other then-presidential candidates last year, the Justice Department said on Monday.

The employee, Dwayne Cross, 41, was sentenced to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, according to a statement from the department.

"Cross admitted that he had no official government reason to access and view these passport applications, but that his sole purpose in accessing and viewing these passport applications was idle curiosity," the Justice Department statement said.

The investigation was triggered one year ago when the State Department acknowledged the files of Senators and then-presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain had been improperly accessed.

The State Department at the time confirmed the file of Obama, now president, had been viewed three times by State Department employees without authorization.

The file contains passport applications, extensive private personal data, and other records with biographical information.

Two other State Department employees involved in the case also pled guilty.

One was sentenced in last December to one year of probation and the other is awaiting sentencing.