CNN
—
A US sailor who served in Japan was discovered responsible on Friday at a common court docket martial for tried espionage, failure to obey a lawful order and tried violation of a lawful common order.
The sailor, Chief Petty Officer Bryce S. Pedicini, will likely be sentenced on Might 7, in line with an announcement from the Naval Prison Investigative Service.
“This responsible verdict holds Mr. Pedicini to account for his betrayal of his nation and fellow service members,” NCIS Director Omar Lopez stated within the assertion. “Adversaries of the USA are unrelenting of their makes an attempt to degrade our army superiority.”
Pedicini was accused earlier this year of 14 counts of espionage and the communication of protection info, along with failing to obey a lawful order by not reporting a international contact or {that a} foreigner had solicited categorised info from him.
He was assigned to the Japan-based destroyer USS Higgins (DDG-76).
CNN has reached out to the Navy’s Choose Advocate Common’s workplace for remark from Pedicini’s legal professional.
Whereas serving on the USS Higgins, Pedicini was taken into custody in Might 2023 when, in line with a Navy cost sheet, he wrongfully transported info he knew to be categorised. Navy prosecutors stated that included images of a categorised laptop display screen that he tried to switch to a international authorities.
In response to the Navy cost sheet, Pedicini gave categorised info to a citizen and worker of a international authorities at the least six totally different instances, starting in November 2022 when he was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. The cost sheet doesn’t specify which international authorities.
Initially from Tennessee, Pedicini enlisted within the Navy in 2008, in line with his Navy document. Throughout his profession, he served on two different destroyers as properly, the USS McFaul for almost seven years and the USS Curtis Wilbur for greater than 5 years. He was promoted to the rank of chief hearth controlman in August 2022. He obtained three Good Conduct Medals and the Nationwide Protection Service Medal, in line with his document.
CNN’s Natasha Bertrand and Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.