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The Navy is requiring that sailors under investigation for allegations of sexual assault or stalking only be transferred to shore commands in response to the death of a sailor, said William Speaks, a spokesman for the Chief of Naval Personnel.
“This revision was taken as a result of reviews by the Navy in the wake of the murder of Petty Officer 3rd Class Angelina Resendiz by a fellow Sailor,” Speaks told Task & Purpose.
No further information about those reviews was immediately available.
Resendiz was assigned to the destroyer USS James E. Williams when she went missing in May 2025. Jermiah Copeland was recently sentenced to 44 years in prison and reduced in rank from petty officer third class to seaman apprentice after pleading guilty to unpremeditated murder and other charges in connection with Resendiz’s death.
The change was announced in a recent Navy Administrative Message, or NAVADMIN, about the service’s policy on when commanding officers can temporarily transfer sailors “when circumstances disrupt cohesion, safety, or good order and discipline within their commands,” Speaks said.
As part of the new requirement, commanders must also coordinate with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS; the appropriate law enforcement organization; Sexual Assault Response Coordinators; and the appropriate commanding officers when making such temporary transfers, the message says.
Resendiz, 21, became a member of the James E. Williams’ crew right after completing training as a culinary specialist, which involves operating dining facilities. She is well-remembered by her shipmates, who told USNI News that Resendiz was a friend to everyone, passionate about serving in the Navy, and excited about her future.
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She disappeared on May 29, 2025, after making an urgent call to a friend saying she needed to be picked up. Investigators discovered her body on June 9, less than 10 miles from Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.
Exactly one year later, Copeland was sentenced to prison after admitting to a judge on the prior day that he had strangled Resendiz. Copeland also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault of a second victim and indecent recording of a third victim, USNI News reported. Prosecutors initially had accused Copeland of assaulting a total of five women, including Resendiz.
Copeland had been charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice in connection with several incidents that allegedly took place between July 2024 and June 2025 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, in Oslo, Norway, and in Norfolk, according to his charge sheet, which the Navy has posted online. All the victims’ names have been redacted from the document.
As part of his sentence, Copleand will receive a dishonorable discharge, forfeit all pay and allowances, and be required to register as a sex offender when he is released from federal prison, according to NCIS.
The change to the Navy’s policy was welcome news to Shannon Hough, founder of Shield of Sisters, an organization that provides counseling and other resources to victims of military sexual trauma. The group has been working with Resendiz’s family since her death.
It is “a great start” to require commanders to talk to each other when sailors under investigation for sexual assault or stalking are temporarily transferred, Hough said, adding that she was glad that the process now involves NCIS, Sexual Assault Response Coordinators, and military attorneys.
“I think it’s a huge, huge step in the right direction; that’s what we’ve been calling for,” Hough told Task & Purpose on Monday.
Hough said that she believes that if the new requirement had been implemented earlier, it could have prevented Copeland from being transferred to Resendiz’s ship, and she “would probably still be alive.”
“I think Angelina would still be with us, and the gaining command might have had more knowledge of just how bad he was,” Hough said.
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