Astronaut Anne McClain’s ex-wife sentenced to prison in ‘space crime’ case

NASA astronaut Anne McClain’s ex-wife, who in November pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators, was sentenced Thursday to three months in prison.

Summer Worden, 50, in November pleaded guilty to the charge stemming from March 2019, when she filed a complaint with the FTC, alleging Spokane’s McClain had improperly accessed Worden’s bank account on two dates in January of that year.

Worden claimed she had opened a new account in September 2018 and reset her password to prevent McClain from accessing her accounts. But a 2020 indictment alleges Worden actually opened the account in April 2018 and did not change her login credentials until January 2019.

The hacking claim was a lie, prosecutors said, and the bank account that McClain accessed was one that the estranged couple shared.

McClain, who has safely traveled back and forth to space twice, said Worden’s lie had tarnished her reputation.

“Six years ago this woman intentionally and with malice sought to destroy my name and my career that I worked my whole life for,” McClain said in court, the Houston Chronicle reported. “She was the architect and the sole perpetrator of a ploy to have me falsely charged with a felony.”

The stories about the first “space crime” still come up with people searching for McClain’s name, McClain said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Haynes said Worden “doxxed” McClain, the Chronicle reported, and as a result the astronaut still gets harassing phone calls.

“She weaponized the federal system and weaponized the media against me,” McClain said in court. The Chronicle reported that the hacking accusation against McClain was made after Worden had already hired Houston investigative media consultant Wayne Dolcefino and gone public with details about the couple’s contentious divorce.

While reading a prepared statement in court, Worden didn’t apologize directly to McClain. She asked U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett to allow her to be free to continue caring for her 12-year-old son and to continue treatment for PTSD and other health issues, the Chronicle reported.

“I understand the responsibility that comes with our words and actions, and I’m here today to take accountability for my actions,” Worden said in court.

Prosecutors said they wanted Worden, a retired Air Force intelligence officer, to be sentenced to three years in prison. Worden’s attorney, Dan Cogdell, asked for a sentence of probation, the Chronicle reported.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of wire fraud and unlawful financial transactions related to accusations that Worden bilked eight people, including McClain, out of more than $200,000 in a land purchase in 2017.

Worden was ordered to pay $210,000 in restitution. The Chronicle reported that Cogdell said Worden had $44 to her name, and would lose her veterans’ benefits because of her conviction.

Worden was allowed to go free after the hearing and will self-surrender at a federal prison sometime in the future, the Chronicle reported.

McClain did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“I was subject to the full force of the federal investigation into my actions in interviews with me, with my family, my friends, my neighbors, my assistants, my phone, my computer, my text, my emails were all pored through to find any shred of truth to your story,” McClain said in the courtroom, according to the Chronicle. “Today we are both sitting here on the other side of that investigation, and I stand here with my name clear.”

John Wayne Ferguson of the Houston Chronicle contributed to this report.