More former midshipmen accuse US Coast Guard Academy of failing to prevent sexual assaults

Susan Haig
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Nine additional former U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets have formally accused the prestigious academy’s overseers of failing to prevent and respond to sexual violence on campus while covering it up.

The claims, filed Wednesday, came more than a month after 13 former cadets filed similar federal complaints seeking $10 million in damages each.

Many of the recent anonymous plaintiffs contacted lawyers handling the case after reading news reports about the first batch of administrative complaints filed against the Coast Guard; its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security; and its former parent agency, the Department of Transportation, said attorney Christine Dunn.

“I’m sure these 22 are just the tip of the iceberg. “I know that there have been incidents of sexual assault at the Coast Guard Academy for several decades and that there have been many survivors,” she said.

Among the 22 people, there are 20 women and two men.

Dunn said she hopes and expects more former cadets who were attacked will come forward.

“I want a whole army of survivors,” she said. “I think the more people there are, the harder it is to ignore us.”

The complaints stem from incidents that occurred from the 1980s to 2017. Several detail how former cadets were attacked in their dorm rooms by classmates who managed to gain entry because Academy policy prevented cadets from locking doors key. One former cadet described going to bed at night with her sleeping bag pulled tight around her neck because she was so afraid she would experience sexual assault in her sleep.

“The Coast Guard negligently created, tolerated and actively concealed the rampant nature of sexual harassment and assault at the Academy, knowingly putting me and other cadets in danger,” wrote one of the nine new plaintiffs.

“What happened to me was the result of negligence that was completely preventable,” wrote a woman who said she experienced sexual violence twice while studying at the Academy – once by a student and once by an officer. Years later, she was diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to military sexual trauma, or MST, and currently receives partial disability benefits.

Her experience at the academy, she said, “ruined” her career and “negatively impacted” many of the relationships she maintained over the years.

A message seeking comment was left with the Coast Guard. In a statement released in September, officials said federal law prohibits the service from discussing complaints and noted that it is “devoting significant resources to improving prevention, victim support and accountability.” “

The complaints follow reports that the Coast Guard kept secret during an investigation called Operation Fouled Anchor involving sexual assault and harassment on campus. The investigation found that the school mishandled dozens of cases involving cadets between 1990 and 2006, including: preventing the prosecution of certain perpetrators.

The revelations, first reported by CNN, have sparked calls for major reforms and long-awaited accountability for perpetrators of crimes and those who protected them. There are multiple governmental and congressional investigations into misconduct in cases of serious misconduct both in and out of school.

Coast Guard officials have previously said they are taking action to change and improve the culture at the academy and the service in response to allegations raised during the Operation Fouled Anchor investigation.

Wednesday’s filing is the first in a multi-step process of trying to sue the federal government. Once an administrative complaint is filed, the agency that allegedly harmed the plaintiff has six months or longer to investigate the claim. The agency can then adjudicate or deny the claim. If the claim is denied, the plaintiff could file a federal lawsuit, Dunn said.