Coast Guard Apologizes for Covering Up Long History of Sexual Assault
The U.S. Coast Guard apologized on Friday for covering up scores of documented sexual assault and harassment cases that took place at the service’s academy, and failing to properly investigate or discipline those accused in dozens more cases over a span of nearly two decades.
The nature of the incidents, which took place between 1988 and 2006, was disclosed to the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science Committee last week during an informal briefing, according to two Democratic senators who sent a letter on Friday to the Coast Guard’s commandant, Adm. Linda L. Fagan, demanding more details.
According to Senators Maria Cantwell of Washington, the panel’s chairwoman, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, an internal Coast Guard review called “Operation Fouled Anchor” determined that 62 incidents of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment either took place at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., or were committed by cadets during those years.
Those cases may only be part of the problem. According to the letter, Coast Guard officials told senators during the briefing that their internal inquiry had yielded another 42 cases of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment that were never properly investigated. The letter said officials also revealed what Ms. Cantwell and Ms. Baldwin called a history of leaders who “discouraged survivors from filing formal complaints or otherwise disclosing their assaults.”
Source: The New York Times
