What the NCIS File Says
The file began with a report that someone aboard USNS Mercy allegedly viewed nude photographs or videos of a sexual nature from another person's iPad and may have shown them to someone else.
The accused acknowledged accessing the iPad to transfer movie files from his iMac laptop. He said nude full-body photographs appeared when he first opened the iPad and that he immediately minimized the folder.
The accused also said he had performed similar file transfers during Pacific Partnership 2015 and had seen the same type of pictures on the iPad before. The report appears to have reached investigators partly through secondhand or overheard statements.
NCIS questioned the accused after he waived Article 31(b) rights and pursued a cyber-forensic review through NCIS Pacific Cyber Operations in Yokosuka, Japan.
The forensic examination did not locate nude photos or videos of the alleged victim on the examined devices. The record says the accused went to Captain's Mast, received a Non-Punitive Letter of Caution, and all charges were dismissed.
Case Timeline
The accused said he transferred movie files onto the iPad and saw nude images when the iPad opened.
Medical Treatment Facility Security notified the Special Agent Afloat aboard USNS Mercy.
The accused was interrogated after waiving Article 31(b) rights.
NCIS Pacific Cyber Operations conducted a forensic examination of electronic devices in Yokosuka, Japan.
The accused went to Captain's Mast, received a caution letter, and the record says all charges were dismissed.
Why This Record Matters
- The file is a digital-privacy sexual misconduct allegation in a shipboard medical setting, not a physical-contact case.
- The record shows a path from shipboard report to cyber forensics and then command disposition.
- The OCR is damaged around who said what, so witness-statement details should be checked against the PDF before publication.
