The U.S. Coast Guard apologized Friday for covering up several well-documented sexual assault and harassment cases that occurred at the service’s academy, and for failing to properly investigate or discipline the accused in several cases. case for almost two decades.
The nature of the incidents, which occurred between 1988 and 2006, was revealed to the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science Committee last week during an informal briefing, according to two Democratic senators who sent a letter Friday to the Coast Guard commandant. , Adm. Linda L. Fagan, asked for more details.
According to Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the chairwoman of the panel, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, an internal investigation by the Coast Guard called “Operation Fouled Anchor” determined that 62 incidents of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment were took place at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., or was done by cadets during those years.
Such cases may be only part of the problem. According to the letter, Coast Guard officials told the senators during the briefing that their internal inquiry resulted in another 42 cases of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment that were never properly investigated. The letter said the officials also revealed what they called Ms. Cantwell and Ms. Baldwin a history of leaders who “discourage survivors from filing formal complaints or otherwise disclosing their assaults.”
Coast Guard officials acknowledged the internal investigation, which took place between 2014 and 2020, after details of the inquiry were reported by CNN on Friday.
In a statement, a Coast Guard spokesperson apologized to the victims, saying that “by not taking appropriate action during sexual assault, the Coast Guard could have been further traumatized victims, delayed access to their care and recovery, and prevented some cases from being referred to the military justice system for appropriate accountability.”
But the apology is unlikely to quell simmering anger on Capitol Hill about the scope of the attacks and the secrecy with which the Coast Guard conducted an internal investigation into them, both of which Ms. Cantwell and Ms. Baldwin in their letter is “disturbing.”
Among the most disturbing revelations they cited was the lack of disciplinary action against perpetrators of sexual assaults. At least two senior officials found to have committed such offenses were allowed to retire with a full pension and unrestricted access to veterans’ benefits, which they have maintained. The senators also expressed anger that the two officials were recommended by the Senate for promotion while they were under investigation, while the allegations against them were never disclosed.
“It is not clear how many other officers have confirmed the claims against them, have not been disciplined, and remain in leadership or management positions,” Ms. Cantwell and Ms. Baldwin.
The Coast Guard also disclosed that officials failed to update personnel records on individuals determined to have committed assaults and harassment incidents, the senators said, the removals of which could have allowing some individuals to pass background checks they may not otherwise clear.
According to the senators, some described the Coast Guard’s failure to disclose its investigation as “intentional.”
Congress has been investigating sexual assault problems in the military services for years, recently passing legislation to make decisions about charging perpetrators down the chain of command. The issue erupted again this year, after the Pentagon published statistics showing attacks reported by students at West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy rose to record levels in 2021. academically.
Data from the Coast Guard Academy was not included in that report; while the Coast Guard is part of the armed forces, it is housed in the Homeland Security Department.
A Coast Guard spokeswoman said the service has made “significant improvements” in how officers investigate reports of sexual assault in recent years, and has “created a culture to prevent sexual assault and sexual harassment.”
