A chief petty officer, previously assigned to USS Higgins (DDG-76) received an 18-year sentence in military prison after being convicted of attempted espionage, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service announced Thursday.
A military judge sentenced Bryce Pedicini to an 18-year sentence following a general courts martial, during which Pedicini was convicted of attempted espionage, failure to obey a general order and attempted violation of a general order. The judge also reduced his rank to E-1 and issued a dishonorable discharge.
Pedicini gave classified and national defense information to a representative of another government, which was not identified in the NCIS report. NCIS arrested Pedicini on May 19, 2023, following an investigation into his attempted espionage, which began as early as November 2022, according to the release.
“The investigation served as part of ongoing efforts by NCIS to prevent the exploitation of U.S. Navy personnel by foreign adversaries,” reads the release.
An appellate review will look at the judge’s dismissal of a charge of communication of defense information, but the review is not likely to affect the sentence, according to the Navy. Pedicini’s sentence begins following the review.
