Sailor escapes discharge for nap with man

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WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy has stopped efforts to discharge a petty officer who says he fell asleep in the same bed as a friend while watching TV, his lawyer said Friday.

A spokesman for the Navy said Stephen C. Jones, 21, is still on active duty at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in South Carolina, The Washington Post reported Friday. Gary Myers, a civilian lawyer, said the proceedings against him have been suspended.

Jones's roommate reported him after returning and finding him sleeping in a single bed with another sailor. The pair said they had been watching "The Vampire Diaries" when they fell asleep.

The other sailor pleaded guilty to unprofessional conduct and was not discharged. Jones contested the findings of his commander, Capt. Thomas Bailey, saying the Navy was trying to get rid of him because of suspicions about his sexual orientation.