A U.S. sailor was dishonorably discharged and sentenced to 18 years in a military prison Thursday after being found guilty of espionage while working for the Navy in Japan.
Bryce Pedicini, a former chief petty officer fire controlman, was convicted of attempted espionage, failure to obey a general order and attempted violation of a general order through a court-martial procedure. He was assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins in Japan when he was taken into pretrial confinement last year.
According to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Pedicini delivered classified and national defense information for a foreign government official from November 2022 to May 2023. He engaged with the foreign official "under the guise of writing research papers," it said. The Navy described that as a tactic U.S. adversaries increasingly use to obtain both classified and unclassified document.
NCIS Director Omar Lopez said the sentence holds Pedicini accountable for the betrayal of both his country and his fellow service members.
"The criminal act by this lone individual should not diminish the incredible sacrifices made by our service members and their families on a daily basis to protect our nation," Lopez said.
Charging documents indicated Pedicini was accused of smuggling photos of a computer screen designed for classified information to a foreign official while he was in Yokosuka, Japan, last May. The nature of the documents is not known. The Navy has said he had reason to believe the exchange could harm the U.S.
Pedicini served on multiple naval ships and received awards throughout his career, which began in 2009.