Thirteen former cadets have filed administrative complaints against the U.S. Coast Guard related to allegations of sexual assault while attending the Connecticut-based service academy, starting a process that could lead to lawsuits in federal court if their claims are denied.
The complaints filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act name the Coast Guard as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which currently oversees the service, and the U.S. Department of Transportation, the agency under which the service used to fall. The law allows individuals to sue the government and seek compensation for suffering harm or injury due to negligence or wrongdoing from federal employees.
Thursday’s legal action comes over a year since CNN reported on the cover-up of an investigation into decades of sexual misconduct claims at the Coast Guard Academy known as Operation Fouled Anchor. The investigation looked into claims at the academy in New London over a two-decade period that ended in 2006.
Under the federal tort law, a government agency has six months to initiate an investigation into the claims and can decide whether to settle or deny them. Each claimant can then choose whether to pursue in federal court.
One of the complaints alleged multiple instances of rape while attending the academy as well as after graduation when assigned to a ship, noting that the victim felt dissuaded from reporting after each assault.
“I never felt like I could report what happened to me,” the complaint reads. “The culture of silence and victim-blaming perpetuated in the Coast Guard prevented me from immediately reporting what happened to me each time, and caused me to completely lose my physical, emotional, and mental stability.”
Another complaint alleged that a victim was repeatedly hazed while at the academy and it escalated into physical violence and sexual assault. When reporting the incidents to the Cadet Counseling Center, the claimant alleged that a counselor refused to address it and said “things like that don’t happen to real men.”
The 12 women and one man who have filed claims against the Coast Guard alleged that the service did not protect them or enact policies that would have prevented abuse. They are each seeking $10 million in damages, saying they have experienced “significant past, present, and future emotional pain and suffering and psychological trauma and impairment.”
“Had the Coast Guard implemented policies or practices at the Academy to prevent and properly address sexual violence, my abuser would not have been in a position to sexually abuse me. The fact that countless female and male cadets have endured sexual violence at the Academy, consistently, over the course of several decades, clearly evidences the Coast Guard’s negligence,” the complaints allege.
Christine Dunn, one of the lawyers representing the claimants, said she received receipt of the delivery of the complaints to the Coast Guard on Thursday morning. She is hoping the more than dozen who have filed claims will encourage others to come forward, noting she has already spoken to another victim since filing.
“Our hope is that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that other survivors are going to start contacting us,” Dunn said, adding that she hopes to further “assemble this small army of survivors.” She is working with another lawyer at Sanford Heisler Sharp as well as with Maritime Legal Solutions.
The statute of limitations on Federal Tort Claims Act complaints are two years from when the claim occurred, which could complicate the claims from the former cadets.
Dunn noted the allegations of all of her clients occurred more than two years ago, but she argued that they were unaware of the Coast Guard’s improper handling of sexual assault and harassment until reports became public about Fouled Anchor in June 2023.
She pointed to the recent settlement reached by the U.S. Department of Justice over the FBI’s handling of allegations related to sports doctor Larry Nassar, who has been convicted for sexually assaulting minors. Claimants, which included those on the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team, used the same federal tort law in seeking compensation over the FBI’s alleged failure to investigate claims against Nassar.
“It was only when all of the stuff came up with Operation Fouled Anchor, that our clients realized the extent of the academy’s liability in their own sexual assaults,” Dunn said. “The clock doesn’t start running until last summer.”
If the claims are denied, the clients can decide whether to pursue further legal action. Dunn said they are “still thinking about all of our options” and lawsuits could potentially be filed in federal court either in Washington, D.C., or in Connecticut.
The Coast Guard confirmed that it has received the claims, but said in a statement that “federal law prevents us from discussing the details.”
“The Coast Guard will resolve the claims in accordance with the Federal Tort Claims Act and any other applicable law. Sexual assault and sexual harassment have no place in our Service. 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,” a Coast Guard spokesperson said.
In the wake of Operation Fouled Anchor, Commandant Linda Fagan has testified before Congress twice in the last year. She most recently appeared before U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s panel in June where she said she would “remain steadfast in my commitment to making lasting cultural change.”
At that hearing, lawmakers questioned Fagan on whether the Coast Guard has taken any actions regarding survivors who have faced retaliation for reporting allegations or leadership who played a role in keeping Operation Fouled Anchor hidden. She said she is waiting on the conclusion of the DHS inspector general’s investigation, which she added “will provide insights into whether non-criminal misconduct occurred or not.”
The Coast Guard has taken some steps to prevent and address sexual misconduct like implementing a safe-to-report policy for victims who fear punishment for minor unrelated infractions while reporting sexual misconduct.
A spokesperson for the Coast Guard recently said leadership has enacted more than half of the 33 actions recommended by Fagan after the service completed an accountability review last July. And in its statement on Thursday, the Coast Guard said it is “devoting significant resources to improving prevention, victim support, and accountability” related to that review.
While Thursday’s legal action is focused on alleged sexual misconduct at the Coast Guard Academy, congressional investigators have also turned their attention to the enlisted side as well as allegations that have occurred as recently as a few years ago.
Five current and former Coast Guard members testified last month at a field hearing in New London about the barriers they faced while reporting, the retaliation that often followed and the lack of accountability for alleged assailants.
The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
