(WASHINGTON) — Another nine former cadets of the Coast Guard Academy are seeking $10 million each from the service, claiming officials condoned and concealed the sexual assault and harassment of students, which knowingly placed them and others in danger, according to legal documents filed Wednesday.
They join 13 other former cadets who filed similar claims last month, all describing sexual misconduct that went unchecked at the campus in New London, Conn., Stars and Stripes reported. Each claim is filed separately by 19 women, two men and one nonbinary person.
“The Coast Guard has run the same playbook for decades: Delay, deny, and wait for survivors to give up,” said Ryan Melogy, an attorney for the group. “But these brave individuals have found their collective voice, and they’re demanding real accountability. The old playbook of stonewalling and silencing won’t work against clients this determined to see real change.”
Service officials said they are aware of the additional claims but federal law prohibits the discussion of details and reiterated a statement offered last month.
“Sexual assault and sexual harassment have no place in our service,” the Coast Guard said in the statement. “The Coast Guard is committed to protecting our workforce and ensuring a safe and respectful environment that eliminates sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other harmful behaviors.”
The legal complaints follow a year of scrutiny for the Coast Guard Academy that began with the revelation that the service concealed a report that found academy officials had routinely mishandled reports of sexual assault among cadets. The report, known as Operation Fouled Anchor, was the result of a six-year internal review of 102 reports of sexual assault and harassment cases at the academy between 1990 and 2006.
Fouled Anchor’s existence only became public after CNN learned of the report and the decision in 2020 by the Coast Guard not to release it. Only after the news network reported on Operation Fouled Anchor did Coast Guard officials go to Congress with it.
Congressional committees and the Department of Homeland Security inspector general have since opened related investigations, and the Coast Guard Investigative Service has begun criminal investigations into the cases included in Fouled Anchor.
Attorneys released copies of the legal paperwork but redacted the names of the former cadets and other identifying information.
One woman described how investigators told her that they had uncovered enough evidence of her rape to court-martial her assailant, but officials chose to discharge him from the academy instead. Afterward, other cadets and staff blamed her for ruining his career.
“My time at the academy was the worst four years of my life. I wanted to leave and tried to, but I could not afford it. I was shamed by my assailant’s classmates, who constantly spread rumors about me. The stigma followed me into my professional career in the Coast Guard,” the woman wrote in the complaint.
