What the NCIS File Says
The master of USNS Kanawha reported that a person had been discovered peering through bent door louvers into two crew members' staterooms while the ship was underway.
The NCIS executive summary says the person later admitted peering into five crew members' rooms while they were undressed, videotaping one person, attempting to photograph others, and damaging door louvers during a three-year tenure aboard the ship.
Investigators first accessed the ship at Augusta Bay, Italy, photographed 23 damaged stateroom doors, seized electronic media and a phone, and sent the devices for forensic analysis by the Defense Computer Forensic Laboratory.
The forensic review found video and image files that appeared to feature as many as four victims taken covertly. One person identified herself in four photographs and two video files extracted from the electronic media.
The case ultimately resulted in a guilty plea to video voyeurism under federal law and a sentence of three years of probation, a curfew for the first six months, and continued counseling.
Case Timeline
The master of USNS Kanawha reported the peering-through-door-louvers incident to NCIS.
NCIS first gained physical access to the ship at Augusta Bay, Italy.
The accused was arrested.
The accused pleaded guilty to video voyeurism.
Sentencing was imposed.
Why This Record Matters
- The file shows a multi-year shipboard privacy and sexual misconduct case, not a thin allegation record.
- The case highlights why shipboard living spaces create distinctive vulnerability: the misconduct allegedly exploited private staterooms while the vessel was underway.
- The extracted file is a closing summary that references many interim reports and exhibits not included in the readable transcript.
