PITTSBURGH — A 62-year-old Butler woman begged a federal judge Tuesday to be lenient after she pleaded guilty in March to wrongfully disclosing the health records of more than 100 UPMC network patients.

But Judge Arthur Schwab chose the harshest punishment available under penal guidelines for Linda S. Kalina, sentencing her to a year in prison followed by three years of government supervision.

Schwab noted that he had the option to sentence her to a minimum of six months of incarceration or even probation. But he said he handed down the strictest punishment “to reflect the seriousness of the offense and to protect the public from the defendant.”

The sentence elicited silent nods and quiet cheers from a handful of the 111 victims seated in the courtroom.

“It's hard to imagine an offense any more egregious than this,” Schwab said. “Not only for the quantity of victims, but for the quality of the offense.”

Schwab concluded that “incarceration is necessary because of the extensive nature of her criminal conduct.”

As Kalina walked out of the courtroom with her lawyer, she was overheard using an obscenity.

The charge stems from Kalina's work at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and then Allegheny Health Network, where she admitted to wrongfully obtaining health information in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), from March 30, 2016, through Aug. 14, 2017.

“I am very happy with the sentence,” victim 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.”

The morning's proceedings began with Kalina's lawyer, Stephen Misko, telling the judge that Kalina cared for her elderly husband along with two people who had mental and physical disabilities.

“She is a great supporter of myself in my later years,” Kalina's husband said in court.

Misko added, “Of the 111 victims in this case, there was no evidence of any dissemination of those individuals. She did it to acquaint herself with the system. We are asking for a period of probation. She's never been in trouble with the law before this.”

Kalina said, “I take full responsibility for my actions and apologize to those victims.”

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch rejected Misko's characterization of Kalina, calling it a “farce” and said that Kalina's responsibility for caring for two mentally and physically handicapped people was an “engineered” situation meant to force the court to give Kalina a more lenient sentence. “She took on a job that allows her to tell the court she has these responsibilities,” Bloch said. “She understood the ramifications of HIPAA. It is quite egregious, unimaginable that she read 111 victims records not knowing what she was doing. These were the records of both her friends and her enemies; their most personal information was revealed to her.”

Bloch also noted that the “victims feel humiliated and harassed” and that “some of the victims were too afraid to come today out of fear and retribution.”

One victim who made a statement during the sentencing asked the Eagle to not publish her name.

“I am fearful that when her sentence ends, she'll just be getting started with her evilness,” the victim said. “You left a path of destruction for your own sick satisfaction.”

A victim advocate confirmed that the victim was being harassed, affirming Bloch's claim. “Justice needs to be served, people really need to know this kind of thing is unacceptable,” the victim said.

As part of Kalina's sentencing, she must undergo mental health treatment and cannot have any contact with the victims. Misko asked how Kalina would abide by the no-contact order since there were too many victims for her to remember, prompting victims in the court to laugh. Schwab said it was her responsibility.

Paserba noted that one good thing came out of Kalina's crimes. “She has created some very special bonds through her actions,” Paserba said. “We're not going home to celebrate her incarceration. If we're going to celebrate anything, it's the bonds of friendships we've created in the wake of this horrible thing.”