US Sailor Sentenced to 18 Years for Espionage in Japan

In a significant case of military justice, former U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Fire Controlman Bryce Pedicini has been dishonorably discharged and sentenced to 18 years in military prison after a court martial found him guilty of espionage and related charges. Pedicini, who was stationed on the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins in Japan, faced charges of attempted espionage, failure to obey a general order, and attempted violation of a general order. His offenses, committed between November 2022 and May 2023, involved delivering classified and national defense information to a foreign government official under the pretense of writing research papers—a tactic described by the Navy as increasingly used by adversaries to obtain sensitive information. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) highlighted the betrayal of trust and the significant risk to national security posed by Pedicini’s actions, while emphasizing that such criminal activities should not overshadow the dedication and sacrifices of other service members. Pedicini, who began his Navy career in 2009, was arrested and held in pre-trial confinement last year after being accused of smuggling photos of classified information to a foreign official in Yokosuka, Japan.