A court-martial trial looms for a Navy cyber warfare officer charged with secretly recorded a senior chief and other sailors without their consent for years, according to charge sheets obtained by Navy Times.
Military prosecutors charged Lt. j.g. William W. Piazza with recording the private spaces of his shipmates since 2013.
Some alleged incidents took place at Fort Meade, Maryland — the home of several military cyber units and the National Security Agency — while prosecutors say others occurred in nearby Severn.
Piazza’s military attorney did not respond to requests for comment made through a Navy public affairs officer.
The junior officer is assigned to the Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group, which develops new cyber capabilities for the service.
Piazza faces charges for recording the private area of a senior chief cryptologic technician in August 2017, “without his consent and under circumstances in which he had a reasonable expectation of privacy,” according to charge sheets.
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He is also accused of recording the private area of a female sailor from October 2013 to March 2014 at Fort Meade.
Piazza also allegedly made a similar recording in Severn of a female sailor from March 2014 to August 2017, according to charge sheets.
In addition to the indecent recording charges, Piazza is charged with conduct unbecoming an officer and gentlemen for the alleged recording of private areas of several sailors at Meade from 2013 to 2017.
The names of the victims on the charge sheets are redacted, so it remains unclear how many people the officer allegedly recorded.
Piazza’s court-martial is scheduled for July.
The California native has spent his entire Navy career in intelligence and information warfare, according to service records.
He enlisted in 2000 and received his commission in 2013, according to service records.
Piazza pinned on his current rank in 2015 and joined the Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group in 2014.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
