Nine additional former cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy have formally accused overseers of the prestigious service academy of failing to prevent and properly address sexual violence on campus, while also covering it up.
The claims, filed Wednesday, come more than a month after 13 former cadets filed similar federal complaints seeking $10 million apiece in damages. Many of latest unnamed plaintiffs contacted lawyers in the case after reading news accounts of the initial batch of administrative complaints filed against the Coast Guard; its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security; and its former parent agency, the Department of Transportation, attorney Christine Dunn said. “I am certain that these 22 are just the tip of the iceberg.
I know that sexual assault has been taking place for decades at the Coast Guard Academy and that there are many survivors out there,” she said. The 22 include 20 women and two men. Dunn said she hopes and expects more former cadets who have been assaulted will come forward.
“I want a whole army of survivors,” she said. “I think that the more people you have, the harder it is to ignore us.” The complaints stem from incidents dating back to the 1980s and as recent as 2017.
Several detail how the former cadets were assaulted in their dorm rooms by classmates who were able to gain entry because Academy policy prevented cadets from locking their doors. One former cadet described going to bed at night in a sleeping bag cinched .