Navy Member Charged With Espionage In VA, Japan

SAN DIEGO — A naval officer is accused of committing espionage in Virginia and Japan as his case works its way through a court-martial process in San Diego, according to military documents.

Chief Petty Officer Fire Controlman Bryce S. Pedicini of the missile destroyer U.S.S. Higgins between November 2022 and February 2023 delivered information, some classified, to a citizen and employee of a foreign government while in the area of Hampton Roads, Virginia, according to a military charging document obtained by U.S. Naval Institute News.

Pedicini also in May 2023 tried to communicate photographs including images of a secure computer screen to someone from a foreign government while in the area of Yokosuka, Japan, the document said.

He wrongfully processed classified material, failed to report a foreign contact, failed to report solicitation of classified information by an unauthorized person and took a personal device into a secure room, according to the document. He also wrongfully transported and processed information he believed to be classified, the document said.

It is unclear which foreign government Pedicini is accused of working with, NBC News reported.
Pedicini is also accused of smuggling photos of a computer screen designed for classified information to a foreign official while he was in Yokosuka, Japan, in May.

A native of Tennessee, Pedicini enlisted in 2008 and advanced to chief in 2022, the Navy Times reported. He reported to Higgins in April and was also assigned to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center in Norfolk, Virginia, during the time of his alleged crimes.