May 20, 1999
Web posted at: 1:10 p.m. EDT (1710 GMT)

In this story: Arraignment next month RELATED STORIES, SITES

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- A former Australian intelligence official awaiting trial on charges of attempted espionage against the United States was ordered held without bail on Thursday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa Buchanan ruled Jean-Philippe Wispelaere, 28, should remain in federal custody until his trial because there is a risk he will flee overseas.

Buchanan rejected a bail request by Wispelaere's court-appointed attorney, Nina Ginsberg, who said "the government case is extremely weak, there is no indication he is a risk of flight."

The judge disagreed. "He has no apparent ties to the United States. He has no employment and he has traveled widely. His ties are primarily to Australia and France. He is a definite risk of non-appearance," Buchanan said.

Ginsberg asked for permission to arrange for a third party to take custody of Wispelaere, but Buchanan refused.

Arraignment next month

A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, returned a one-count indictment against the spy suspect on Tuesday.

Wispelaere, an Australian military intelligence official from July 1998 until his abrupt resignation January 13, was charged with selling secret and top secret U.S. defense documents to undercover FBI agents during the last two months.

The documents had been shared with Australia under U.S.-Australian defense treaties.

Wispelaere, who was arrested on Saturday, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, or even death if certain conditions, like disclosure of nuclear secrets, are met.

His next scheduled court appearance is an arraignment hearing on June 1.

His father said Tuesday that if his son sold U.S. government secrets he acted purely out of greed.

In an interview with an Australian television station, Claude Wispelaere said that if his son sold secrets, "It's not because he's in need of money; it's because of greed. The more money you have, the more you want. He was well-paid in his job," the father told Channel 7 TV in Melbourne.

CNN's Terry Frieden contributed to this report.

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