Transfers of sailors under criminal investigation for sexual assault must be coordinated with law enforcement and approved by the receiving commander under a Navy policy change prompted by the killing of a sailor.
In a message to the force published Thursday, Navy officials said the temporary transfer of a sailor accused of sexual assault or certain other crimes must include coordination with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service or relevant law enforcement agencies, sexual assault and response coordinators and appropriate commanding officers.
Transfers should be to ashore locations rather than ships except in cases of urgent operational need, the Navy said.
“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,” William Speaks, a spokesman for the chief of naval personnel, said in a statement Tuesday.
The update clarifies existing Navy policies that give commanding officers the authority to temporarily transfer sailors when circumstances disrupt cohesion, safety or good order and discipline within their commands, Speaks said.
He noted the revision adds restrictions on where sailors may be transferred when the investigation concerns an allegation of sexual assault or stalking.
In June, Seaman Apprentice Jermiah Copeland admitted to strangling Resendiz in his barracks room at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia in May 2025. He concealed her body into a suitcase before dumping it in a nearby wooded area.
He was sentenced by a military judge to 44 years in prison as part of a plea bargain that included guilty pleas to four other charges, including aggravated assault by strangulation and indecent recording.
Copeland, a culinary specialist, had faced other criminal charges. They included the alleged rape of another fellow sailor in November 2024, after his assignment to the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in December 2023.
He was transferred to the destroyer USS James E. Williams, homeported in Norfolk, in January 2025 where Resendiz also worked as a culinary specialist.
The new Navy guidance also says such transfers should not be punitive. When ongoing conduct poses a threat to others or a sailor is suspected of continued violations of military law, commanders should consult with a senior military lawyer about appropriate options, it said.
“In all cases, commanders will ensure continued safety of alleged victims, respect for the accused sailor’s due process rights, and the integrity of ongoing investigations,” the Navy said in the message.
Resendiz’s mother, Esmeralda Castle, has strongly criticized the Navy’s response to her daughter’s disappearance and death. She says the service could have prevented her death.
Copeland had a history of sexual assault allegations even from before his enlistment in the Navy in 2023.
Castle has said Copeland should not have been recruited and that his previous commands should have intervened after allegations of sexual and violent offenses against other women.
“I think there should be more people in jail,” she told reporters in June following Copeland’s sentencing. “Yes, he took the life, but the conditions were created by the leadership.”
The Navy has denied wrongdoing in connection with its response to Resendiz’s disappearance and death.