US sailor found guilty at court martial on attempted espionage charges

A US sailor who served in Japan was found guilty on Friday at a general court martial for attempted espionage, failure to obey a lawful order and attempted violation of a lawful general order.

The sailor, Chief Petty Officer Bryce S. Pedicini, will be sentenced on May 7, according to a statement from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

“This guilty verdict holds Mr. Pedicini to account for his betrayal of his country and fellow service members,” NCIS Director Omar Lopez said in the statement. “Adversaries of the United States are unrelenting in their attempts to degrade our military superiority.”

Pedicini was accused earlier this year of 14 counts of espionage and the communication of defense information, in addition to failing to obey a lawful order by not reporting a foreign contact or that a foreigner had solicited classified information from him.

He was assigned to the Japan-based destroyer USS Higgins (DDG-76).

CNN has reached out to the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s office for comment