In what is being billed as the first action of its kind against a U.S. service academy, a collective action with a total of 13 claims was filed related to the long-running scandal about how the U.S. Coast Guard Academy handled sexual assault claims. CNN exposed the culture of the Academy in a June 2023 exclusive that said sexual assaults were routinely covered up and that the USCG deliberately took actions to mislead an investigation. They are reported to be seeking a total of $130 million in damages.
The complaints were filed on behalf of 12 women and one man all of whom attended the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. They allege abuse and sexual assaults during their time on campus and later while on sea duty. The complaints allege that the Coast Guard’s failure to implement adequate policies and practices allowed sexual violence to go unchecked at the Academy.
“Today’s filings are just the tip of the iceberg. We know that there are numerous women and men who were sexually assaulted at the Coast Guard Academy and have never gotten justice. We know that there is strength in numbers and hope that bringing legal claims on behalf of multiple survivors is an important step in holding the Coast Guard Academy accountable for failing to keep cadets safe,” said Christine Dunn, Partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp, a class-action litigation firm. The same law firm represented plaintiffs in sexual assault cases brought in the past against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Navy.
The filings are the first step under the Federal Tort Claims Act legal process, a federal statute that permits individuals to bring legal claims against federal agencies for torts committed by their employees. Before filing an FTCA complaint in court, an individual must file an administrative complaint with the agency at fault. The agency is then afforded six months to investigate the claim. After that, the individual may file a lawsuit against the agency in federal court. One of the issues however may be the date of the incidents because by law the claims need to be filed within two years. The lawyers told Reuters they contend the clock did not start until they learned of the extent of the situation after the CNN report.
The complaints allege that the Coast Guard’s failure to implement adequate policies and practices allowed sexual violence to go unchecked at the Academy, resulting in the claimants’ harm. The complaints further allege that the Coast Guard condoned and actively concealed the rampant nature of sexual assault and harassment of Academy students, knowingly placing the claimants and other cadets in danger.
After CNN’s 2023 expose on Operation Fouled Anchor, the Coast Guard’s internal investigation of sexual assault and harassment at the Academy, the current leadership issued apologies and instituted new procedures. It has also led to Congressional hearings and investigations that are continuing. OFA involved the review of over 100 incidents of sexual assault of Academy students between the 1980s and the early 2000s.
The attorneys at Sanford Heisler Sharp and Maritime Legal Solutions said that they anticipate that today’s filing of these complaints will catalyze more former Academy cadets to come forward with similar claims.
