HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Pennsylvania attorney general's office is refusing to release internal, sexually explicit emails found on state computers.

Several news organizations received letters this week denying their Right-to-Know requests for the emails on grounds that they are not public records and that they are part of an internal investigation into possible violations of agency policies.

Attorney General Kathleen Kane decided to withhold the emails after a grand jury judge lifted a stay barring the release the emails, freeing her to release any that did not include grand jury material.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Wednesday that the attorney general's office paid $15,000 to settle a female agent's complaint that she was forced to work in an environment in which sexually explicit materials were routinely exchanged through internal emails.