A federal judge sentenced a Butler woman to one year in jail and three years of government supervision after pleading guilty in March to wrongfully disclosing the health records of more than 100 UPMC network patients.

The sentence was the highest punishment within the penal guidelines.

Linda S. Kalina, 62, pleaded with Judge Arthur Schwab to give her a more lenient sentence of probation, but he handed down the highest punishment “to reflect for the seriousness of the offense and to protect the public from the defendant.”

The sentence elicited silent nods and quiet cheers from the audience made up of a handful of the 111 victims in the case.

“I am very happy with the sentence,” Gail Paserba, of Penn Township, said afterward. “I had to bring this full circle and see this through. I had to be here. Me and the other victims have held each other up through this process.”

This is a breaking news item — for the full story pick Wednesday's Butler Eagle.