Navy sub sailor gets prison in shower recordings case

MAYPORT NAVAL STATION, Fla. -- A Navy sailor pleaded guilty Tuesday to secretly videotaping female trainees as they undressed for showers aboard a submarine, becoming the fourth crew member of the USS Wyoming to be sentenced to prison in a case that has tarnished the U.S. military's integration of women into its submarine fleet.

A court-martial sentenced Petty Officer 3rd Class Cody Shoemaker to 18 months in prison and a bad-conduct discharge. The 22-year-old missile technician told a military judge he used a cellphone twice last spring to record female midshipmen from a tight crawlspace that looked into the shower area from beneath a sink.

"The Navy has brought women into the submarine force, and the accused has not gotten onboard," Lt. Cmdr. Lee Marsh, a Navy prosecutor, said in asking the judge to "send a message to that submarine force that all sailors, male and female, will be treated with dignity and respect."

In addition to midshipmen -- students from the U.S. Naval Academy or college Navy ROTC programs -- prosecutors say four female officers serving on the Wyoming were recorded undressing, and sailors traded the videos "like Pokemon" cards for energy drinks and other items.

Three other sailors pleaded guilty in the case last week, and three more are awaiting trial.