The Navy SEALs don’t like to talk about it, but there’s a military outpost for special operators in Somalia. It’s a staging point for their shadowy war against al-Shabab militants.
And according to military prosecutors, Somalia’s Galkayo also was the place where a Navy Peeping Tom recorded a fellow sailor and then lied to investigators to cover it up.
Utilitiesman 2nd Class Antoine Jemel Moore was arraigned Monday at a special court-martial in Norfolk for digitally recording the female sailor and then making a false official statement to authorities.
His legal troubles apparently began in mid-July in Somalia when he allegedly stuck his red-cased iPhone over a wall in the woman’s bedroom, according to the charge sheets.
Asked about it eight days later by authorities, Moore allegedly said that the “only photo I have of her ... on my phone is of her holding a snake or a red worm,” a statement prosecutors contend was “totally false."
Although Moore is assigned to Virginia Beach-based Naval Special Warfare Logistics Support Unit Two and his trial will take place in Norfolk, the court-martial was convened by Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, California.
“The alleged crimes occurred between or about July 11 and July 21, 2017,” said Group Two spokeswoman Lt. Katherine Koenig in a written statement emailed to Navy Times. "Naval Special Warfare Group Two takes these allegations seriously, and if the service member is found guilty, he will be held accountable within the laws and regulations under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
“The alleged actions of this service member do not represent the Navy’s or Naval Special Warfare’s high standards of personal and professional conduct.”
Moore did not return messages placed at his unit. He is not in pre-trial confinement.
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Moore isn’t a special operator. In the Navy, utilities personnel install and repair plumbing, heating, fuel storage, water treatment and distribution systems, plus equipment for air conditioning, refrigeration and sewage disposal.
Moore enlisted in the Navy in 2008 and was assigned to the special warfare unit in mid-2016. He previously had served in Mississippi-based Navy Mobile Construction Battalion 74 and in the public works department at Rota, Spain.
His personal decorations include two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals and a Good Conduct Medal.
Prine came to Navy Times after stints at the San Diego Union-Tribune and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He served in the Marine Corps and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. His awards include the Joseph Galloway Award for Distinguished Reporting on the military, a first prize from Investigative Reporters & Editors and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
