Nine additional former cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy have formally accused overseers of the prestigious service academy of failing to prevent and properly address sexual violence on campus, while also covering it up.
The claims, filed Wednesday, come more than a month after 13 former cadets filed similar federal complaints seeking $10 million apiece in damages.
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Many of the latest unnamed plaintiffs contacted lawyers in the case after reading news accounts of the initial 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, attorney Christine Dunn said.
“I am certain that these 22 are just the tip of the iceberg. I know that sexual assault has been taking place for decades at the Coast Guard Academy and that there are many survivors out there,” she said. The 22 include 20 women and two men.
Dunn said she hopes and expects more former cadets who have been assaulted will come forward.
“I want a whole army of survivors,” she said. “I think that the more people you have, the harder it is to ignore us.”
The complaints stem from incidents dating back to the 1980s and as recent as 2017. Several detail how the former cadets were assaulted in their dorm rooms by classmates who were able to gain entry because academy policy prevented cadets from locking their doors. One former cadet described going to bed at night in a sleeping bag cinched tightly around her neck because she was so fearful of being sexually assaulted in her sleep.
“The Coast Guard negligently created, condoned, and actively concealed the rampant nature of sexual harassment and assault at the Academy, knowingly placing me and other cadets in danger,” wrote one of the nine new plaintiffs.
“What happened to me was the entirely preventable result of the negligent actions,” wrote the woman, who said she was sexually assaulted twice during her time at the academy — once by a classman and once by an officer. She was diagnosed years later with depression and PTSD related to Military Sexual Trauma, or MST, and now receives partial disability payments.
The experience at the academy, she said, “ruined” her career and “negatively impacted” many relationships she has had over the years.
A message was left seeking comment with the Coast Guard. In a statement released in September, officials said the service was barred by federal law from discussing the complaints and noted it is “devoting significant resources to improving prevention, victim support, and accountability. ”
The complaints follow revelations the Coast Guard kept secret a probe, called Operation Fouled Anchor, into sexual assault and harassment on campus. The investigation found that dozens of cases involving cadets from 1990 to 2006 had been mishandled by the school, including the prevention of some perpetrators from being prosecuted.
The revelations, first reported by CNN, sparked calls for major reforms and long-awaited accountability for offenders and those who protected them. There are multiple government and congressional investigations underway looking into the mishandling of serious misbehavior at the school and beyond.
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 the allegations raised in the Operation Fouled Anchor investigation.
Wednesday’s filing marks the first in a multistep process of attempting to sue the federal government. After an administrative complaint is submitted, the agency that allegedly harmed the plaintiff gets six months or longer to investigate the claim. The agency can then settle or deny the claim. If a claim is denied, the plaintiff can then file a federal lawsuit, Dunn said.
