SAN DIEGO — A U.S. Navy chief petty officer who was formerly stationed in Norfolk has been convicted of attempted espionage.
Bryce Pedicini was found guilty by a military judge following a seven-day general court-martial. He served aboard the Japan-based guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) but many of Pedicini's actions happened in 2022 and 2023 in Hampton Roads, according to the U.S. Naval Institute News.
NCIS found that he gave classified and national defense information to a foreign government. Pedicini provided this information under the guise of writing research papers. He was apprehended while trying to do so again after he was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, according to USNI News.
Following a trial in April, Pedicini was convicted of attempted espionage, failure to obey a lawful order, and attempted violation of a lawful general order.
NCIS did not identify the foreign government that Pedicini was communicating with.
His sentencing is scheduled to take place on May 7 at Naval Station San Diego.