A U.S. Navy sailor assigned to the USS Higgins has been charged with espionage after allegedly leaking multiple documents pertaining to national defense to a foreign national, according to a charge sheet obtained by Military.com.
Chief Petty Officer Bryce Steven Pedicini, a fire controlman, was charged in January on allegations of committing espionage in Virginia, aboard the Higgins and while in Japan, in addition to the wrongful communication of defense information and disobeying lawful orders.
“A sailor assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) is suspected of mishandling classified documents and information,” Cmdr. Arlo Abrahamson, a Navy spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, confirmed in an emailed statement. “The incident remains under investigation, and legal proceedings continue.”
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According to the charge sheet, Pedicini, on multiple occasions between November 2022 and May 2023, allegedly transmitted the classified material while serving in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and in Yokosuka, Japan, where the USS Higgins is based.
Hampton Roads is the home of multiple Navy bases, including Naval Air Station Oceana; Naval Shipyard Norfolk; and Joint Expeditionary Base-Little Creek, the home of SEAL Teams 2, 4 and 8.
The charges were first reported by USNI News.
The nationality of the “citizen and…
