Former Coast Guard Academy cadets file complaints alleging sexual violence
Written by Nick Blenkey
Photograph: USCG
In ongoing fallout from the 2023 CNN “Operation Fouled Anchor” report on sexual assault and harassment at the United States Coast Guard Academy, 13 former academy cadets have filed separate Federal Tort Claims Act administrative complaints against the United States Coast Guard; its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security; and its former parent agency, the Department of Transportation,
The complaints were filed by attorneys at Sanford Heisler Sharp on behalf of Jane Does 1-12 and John Doe 1, all of whom, the law firm says, are former Coast Guard Academy cadets who were sexually assaulted during their time at the academy.
The firm says that the complaints are the first known collective action by sexual violence survivors against a United States service academy.
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. They 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.
The claimants are represented in the matter by Christine Dunn, partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP and co-chair of the firm’s sexual violence, Title IX and victims’ rights practice group, as well as Jillian Seymour, associate. The claimants are also represented by J. Ryan Melogy of the New York law firm Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC.
Both law firms represented “Midshipman X,” Hope Hicks in her lawsuit filed against Maersk Line Limited. (See earlier story).
The claimants seek to hold the Coast Guard accountable through the FTCA, a federal statute that permits individuals to bring legal claims against federal agencies for torts committed by their employees. Prior to filing an FTCA complaint in court, an individual must first 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 at fault in federal court.
Attorneys for Jane Does 1-12 and John Doe 1 anticipate that the filing of these complaints will catalyze more former Academy cadets to come forward with similar claims. They say that the complaints are among the first to be filed in the wake of increased public scrutiny of the Coast Guard’s decades-long failure to properly address sexual violence of academy cadets.
Noting that this scrutiny was galvanized by CNN’s 2023 report on the Coast Guard’s internal Operation Fouled Anchor investigation, Sanford Heisler Sharp says that investigation concluded that sexual misconduct ran rampant and unchecked at the academy, and that academy leaders routinely mishandled reports of such misconduct, at times actively concealing incidents of sexual assaults. Perpetrators rarely faced significant punishment, if they were investigated at all, and many continued to ascend the Coast Guard ranks into high-ranking leadership positions.
The investigation’s internal report, adds the law firm, notes that, “academy leadership often failed to undertake sufficient action to ensure a safe environment” and “too often failed to provide the support, trust, and care that is so vital for victims of sexual assault.”
The CNN report prompted Congressional hearings and investigations into the matter. In June 2024, as part of its inquiry into the academy, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations heard the testimony from Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan about sexual violence at the academy. Most recently, in August 2024, the Senate subcommittee released a report on its inquiry, finding that the Coast Guard enabled “systemic sexual assault and harassment, including a culture of silencing, retaliation, and failed accountability.”
Sanford Heisler Sharp and co-counsel Maritime Legal Solutions took the first step in the FTCA legal process by filing administrative complaints against the Coast Guard on behalf of thirteen former Coast Guard Academy sexual assault survivors. Specifically, these complaints allege that the Coast Guard failed to adequately protect cadets from sexual assault. The administrative complaints further allege that the Coast Guard is liable under the FTCA because it was negligent in its response, or lack thereof, to reports of sexual violence made by the claimants.
The complaints, says Sanford Heisler Sharp, “detail the sexual violence endured by the claimants as cadets at the academy. Several claimants were sexually assaulted in their dorm rooms by classmates who entered their living spaces without permission, enabled by an academy policy that prevented cadets from locking their doors.”
Redacted excerpts from filings by three of the claimants made available by the law firms (HERE, HERE, and HERE) go into painful and disturbing detail on the nature of of the mistreatment alleged. In each case, the claimant asserts “I have stated a viable FTCA claim against the Coast Guard and am entitled to damages of $10 million.”
