A Navy sailor who grew up in Salem and is accused of spying could face the death penalty, authorities said.

AP photo

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann, 21, of Salem, Ore., reads letters written by students at Myers Elementary for seamen on the USS Constellation in this 2003 photo in Salem, Ore.

Ariel Weinmann is being held at the Naval Brig in Norfolk, Va., for a possible court-martial.

The Navy said in a statement that Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann of Salem was successful in giving classified information to an undisclosed foreign government before he destroyed the computer. The classified information was described as "relating to the national defense of the United States of America ..."

The charges include three counts of espionage, starting with a March 2005 visit to Bahrain to "attempt to communicate, deliver or transmit" the classified information to "a representative, officer, agent or employee of a foreign government," the Navy said.

In an exclusive interview with KGW, Ariel Weinmann’s father, Rob, defended his son.

"He was really gung ho, really excited, he was gonna make a career out of being in the Navy," Rob Weinmann said.

Ariel Weinmann joined the Navy in July 2003. He was a fire control technician third class petty officer aboard one of the Navy’s most heavily classified ships—the submarine USS Albuquerque in New London, Conn. His job was firing missiles.

In the following months, while aboard the USS Albuquerque, Weinmann copied confidential and secret information onto a Navy laptop, investigators said.

In July of 2005, Weinmann and the computer disappeared. Weinmann’s father said his son became disillusioned with his mission, but they encouraged him to return to service.

"Eight months we never heard anything from the Navy about him, they never inquired about him, nothing, until the one day the FBI showed up at our door," he said.

After disappearing, Weinmann’s travels reportedly took him to Vienna, Austria and Mexico City. The FBI said classified information was again given to a foreign government, although it will not say which foreign government.

In March, near Vienna, the Navy alleges, Weinmann used a mallet to destroy the computer's hard drive.

U.S. Fleet Forces Command spokesman Ted Brown would not comment on which government or governments Weinmann is charged with spying for, what he was asking for in exchange for the information, or how he obtained the computer.

Weinmann was picked up at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on March 26 and transferred to a brig to Norfolk Naval Station, the Navy said.

"When they picked him up they told us they found sensitive information on his laptop computer," said Rob Weinmann. Beyond that, the family said it knows little. Family members said the FBI and Naval Intelligence have searched their Salem home twice.

They communicate with their son through censored letters.

The family said the FBI has refused to release any additional information. They are worried about their son’s civil rights.

"Every father says they know their son. I know how he was brought up. I know his values, that in a lot of ways he was very naive, gullible. I definitely don’t want him to be a scapegoat," Rob Weinmann said.

The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reported his confinement last week and on Wednesday detailed the charges against the sailor.

The Navy also charged Weinmann with failing to properly safeguard and store classified information, making an electronic copy of classified information, communicating classified information to a person not entitled to receive it, and stealing and destroying a government computer.

Weinmann faces a maximum punishment of death if his fleet commander decides to press for a court-martial.

Weinmann's Naval attorneys have declined to comment.

(AP contributed to this story.)