U.S. Navy officer accused of spying for China, hiring a prostitute

(Image credit: MCSN Craig Z. Rodarte/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

U.S. Navy officer Lt. Cmdr. Edward C. Lin has been charged with providing classified information to China and hiring a prostitute, United States officials confirmed to The New York Times Monday. Lin, a Taiwan-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was accused of twice giving secret information to a representative of a foreign government and of another three attempts to do so, all with the "intent or reason to believe it would be used to the advantage of a foreign nation," Reuters reports. Navy officials say they believe that Lin provided the information to a Chinese girlfriend.

Lin is also facing charges for committing adultery, hiring a prostitute, and not disclosing foreign travel to the U.S. government. He had a preliminary military justice hearing on Friday.