US Chief Petty Officer Charged with Espionage
A U.S. Navy sailor has been charged with espionage after he allegedly leaked sensitive military materials to an agent for a foreign government numerous times over a six-month period.
NBC News reported Chief Petty Officer Fire Controlman Bryce Pedicini is alleged to have taken classified documents or other materials and passed them on to another individual at least seven times from November 2022 until May of 2023.
Pedicini is a 16-year Navy veteran who had been stationed in Japan.
He was working aboard the guided-missile destroyer the U.S.S. Higgins during the alleged document dumps and is expected to face a general court-martial before the week is up, the U.S. Naval Institute reported, citing a military charge sheet.
The USNI reported it is alleged Pedicini made his first contact with an agent for another government on Nov. 22, 2022, in Hampton Roads, Virginia.
He allegedly met a person described as “an employee of a foreign government” six more times in the same place.
From May 8 to May 17 of last year, Pedicini allegedly tried to link up several times with a foreign agent in Yokosuka, Japan.
Per the charge sheet, Pedicini allegedly attempted to pass along images he took of secret information from a computer screen during those attempted meetups.
It is unclear what country the foreign agent worked for and exactly what kind of information was allegedly leaked by the career serviceman.
The USNI reported only the materials were in the form of documents and the images were related to “national defense photographs.”
Pedicini had “lawful access” to all of the information he is alleged to have offered to the foreign agent.
The charge sheet said all the documents contained information that “could be used to the injury of the United States and to the advantage of a foreign nation.”
In a statement to NBC News, U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesperson Commander Arlo Abrahamson said Pedicini is “suspected of mishandling classified documents and information.”
He is also charged with bringing a personal electronic device into a sensitive area and of failing to report a foreign contact to his superiors.
Abrahamson added, “The incident remains under investigation and legal proceedings continue.”
The USNI reported Pedicini joined the Navy in 2008 and worked aboard destroyers beginning in 2009.
Attorneys for Pedicini, who is originally from Tennessee, have not publicly commented on the charges against him.
According to his charge sheet, Pedicini was being paid a salary of $5,838.50 monthly for being based in Japan.
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