Spy Faces Trial Down Under

The Australian government is preparing espionage charges against a man already facing trial in Virginia for allegedly trying to sell American military secrets, an Australian newspaper reported Monday.

The Age newspaper reported that diplomatic sources said Australia is working on "contingency plans" in case Jean Philippe Wispelaere, a former Australian intelligence analyst, is cleared by the U.S. court. The Commonwealth Attorney General's Department was preparing the charges and planned to ask the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to file them before Wispelaere goes on trial in Virginia, the newspaper said.

Wispelaere, 28, could face life in prison if convicted of attempted espionage at a trial scheduled for Oct. 4 in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. If prosecutors can also prove the disclosure of U.S. nuclear secrets, the death penalty could apply.

The U.S. government says Wispelaere sold nearly 1,000 secret U.S. defense documents to undercover FBI agents who posed as foreign spies. The agents lured Wispelaere to Virginia and arrested him at Dulles International Airport last month.

An Australian citizen born in Montreal, Wispelaere worked for Australian intelligence from July 1998 until his abrupt resignation on Jan. 12, according to court papers.

If Australia notifies U.S. officials that Wispelaere has been charged with offenses in his homeland, he would be held in custody even if cleared of the U.S. spying charges. Australia would have 45 days to seek his extradition.

If convicted of espionage in Australia, Wispelaere would face a maximum of seven years in prison.