Thirteen former U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets on Thursday accused the Connecticut school’s supervisors of failing to prevent and cover up sexual assaults on campus, in a federal complaint seeking $10 million each in damages.
The former cadets, who all say they were sexually abused at the academy from the 1980s through recent years, filed administrative complaints under the Federal Tort Claims Act against the Coast Guard, its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and its former parent agency, the Department of Transportation.
They allege that the Coast Guard failed to implement appropriate policies and procedures, allowing sexual assaults to go unpunished at the academy in New London, Connecticut. They also allege that authorities covered up the prevalence of sexual abuse and harassment at the school.
Coast Guard officials had no immediate comment Thursday. Service spokesmen said they were working on a response to the complaints.
The complaints follow revelations that the Coast Guard concealed an investigation, dubbed Operation Fouled Anchor, into sexual abuse and harassment on campus. The investigation found dozens of cases involving cadets from 1990 to 2006. mistreated by the schoolincluding preventing some perpetrators from being prosecuted.
The revelations, which were first reported by CNNled to calls for major reforms and long overdue accountability for offenders and those who protected them. There have been multiple government and congressional research Research is currently being conducted into how to deal with serious misconduct at school and beyond.
“What happened to these individuals at the academy really had a lifelong impact,” said Christine Dunn, an attorney representing the former cadets. “Some of them are still suffering from active PTSD. As a result, their careers have been ruined. As a result, marriages have been ruined.”
Coast Guard officials have previously said they are taking action to change and improve the culture at the academy and in the service in response to allegations raised in the Operation Fouled Anchor investigation.
Among the former cadets who filed complaints Thursday is a woman named in the documents as Jane Doe 1, who said she was raped twice at the academy and later gang-raped multiple times while serving on a ship after graduation.
After the first rape on campus, she said she didn’t feel she could report it because it would be her word against that of the beloved senior cadet who had allegedly attacked her. She also said she’s heard from other female cadets who weren’t believed when they came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.
About a year later, she said she notified a campus official that she had been assaulted, though she did not provide details or the name of the alleged assailant. The official did not formally report it, she said. Years later, she reported it herself to the Coast Guard. Disciplinary action was taken against the alleged assailant but was dismissed, she said. Officials told her that too much time had passed for a successful prosecution, she said.
She said she felt she could not report the subsequent rapes.
“The culture of silence and victim blaming perpetuated by the Coast Guard prevented me from immediately reporting what was happening to me each time, and caused me to completely lose my physical, emotional and mental stability,” her complaint said.
She said she suffered not only psychological pain, but also physical trauma. She said she suffered chronic pain from the attacks, including pelvic pain and migraines, and had undergone multiple abdominal surgeries, including a hysterectomy, as a result of her injuries.
Another former cadet, Jane Doe 2, said she was raped at the academy but didn’t report it right away because of the way other women were treated when they made similar allegations. She said that when she did report it to a supervisor, she was never called to testify as part of an investigation. She also alleged that school officials discouraged her from reporting the rape and said her written statement about the assault was lost.
She said the mental and physical trauma she endured affected her career and personal life, including receiving poor performance reviews and the breakup of her first marriage.
“I have chronic insomnia and must constantly ensure that my sleeping and living space is secure and that all doors are locked,” she said in her complaint. “I suffer from severe anxiety. I have experienced stress-related health issues including low thyroid, infertility, core issues, and lack of sexual satisfaction. It has damaged my current marriage.”
After filing such complaints under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the Coast Guard has six months or more to investigate the allegations. If the service dismisses the complaints, the former cadets can file federal lawsuits, Dunn said.
The lawyers for the former cadets expect that more victims will come forward following the complaints filed on Thursday.
“Today marks a historic turning point in addressing the epidemic of sexual violence at the Coast Guard Academy,” said J. Ryan Melogy, another attorney for the former cadets. “For far too long, the Coast Guard has relied on a culture of silence, fear and retaliation to prevent survivors from being held accountable for the horrific injustices they faced as cadets.”
