Criminal charges against a junior officer accused of secretly recording sailors without their consent for years were withdrawn and dismissed by a military judge earlier this summer.

Lt. j.g. William W. Piazza was charged in January with allegedly recording the private spaces of his shipmates at various locations since 2013.

But on June 24, Judge Cmdr. Ryan Stormer withdrew and dismissed the charges after “significant portions” of the evidence were suppressed because “the search did not comply with applicable rules and regulations,” Naval District Washington spokeswoman Chatney Auger said in an email to Navy Times.

The charges were dropped without prejudice, which means they could be brought back if new evidence is obtained in the case.

It remains unclear what evidence Stormer tossed and Auger declined to elaborate on details about the search warrant, adding that any further information would be available only through the lengthy Freedom of Information Act request process.

“We will have no further comment on this case,” Auger said.

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The cyber warfare officer was charged with recording other sailors at Maryland’s Fort Meade and in nearby Severn.

Piazza was assigned to Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group when the charges were referred earlier this year.

He enlisted in 2000 and received his commission in 2013, according to service records.

Piazza joined the Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group in 2014 and pinned on his current rank in 2015.

Neither he nor his military defense attorney responded to requests for comment.

Geoff is the editor of Navy 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.

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