A member of the Navy\u2019s elite SEAL Team 6 will spend 30 days in the brig after a panel of his peers found him guilty of attempting to catfish a woman, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic spokesperson Beth Baker said Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Special Operator 1st Class Aaron Howard also will be reduced to petty officer second class and forfeit $500 from his pay for three months, Baker told Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Military prosecutors originally accused the highly decorated Howard of posing as two different people<\/a>, including a nutritionist hired by the command, to entice three women into sharing sexy snapshots of themselves over text messages \u2014 popularly called catfishing \u2014 in summer 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The women included two civilians and an aircrew survival equipmentman second class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But charges of indecent conduct and requesting and receiving the nude photos under false pretense involving the petty officer were dismissed and the military jury also found Howard not guilty on charges of indecent conduct and that he requested the snapshots from a female civilian under false pretense, Baker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Howard\u2019s civilian defense attorney, Michael Waddington, said no nude photos were presented as evidence during the four-day trial at Naval Station Norfolk<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Howard\u2019s military defense counsel, Marine Capt. Douglas Germano, said the prosecution sought a sentence of 18 months behind bars and a dishonorable discharge. Germano said he was glad that the jury recognized Howard\u2019s service to his country by delivering a verdict that will allow him to seek a medical retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading a prepared statement before his sentencing, Howard, 34, indicated that he needed medical care for the hidden wounds of war, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, hearing loss and traumatic brain injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also spoke about being \u201cpunished and humiliated since the investigation began,” including being sent to Naval Air Station Oceana<\/a> where his duties included scrubbing toilets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe leadership banded together and formed a wall of silence,\u201d Howard continued. \u201cAnyone that spoke on my behalf was considered a traitor to DEVGRU. My friends confided in me that if they stepped forward, then they were no longer welcome at the command. This hurt me more than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t