Thirteen former Coast Guard Academy cadets allege that they were sexually assaulted during their time at the Connecticut school and claim that when they came forward, they were denied, ignored and told that too much time had passed. Now, they are pursuing damages against the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security.
The allegations were detailed in administrative complaints filed against the Coast Guard and DHS ahead of a formal Federal Tort Claims Act filing, a mechanism for bringing legal claims against the government for negligence or wrongful acts by federal employees. Lawyers representing the former cadets, identified only as 12 Jane Does and one John Doe, said it is “the first known collective action by sexual violence survivors against a United States service academy.”
“The Coast Guard negligently created, condoned, and actively concealed the rampant nature of sexual harassment and assault at the academy, knowingly placing me and other cadets in danger,” the former cadets wrote in their complaints.
The individual complaints were filed ahead of an official FTCA complaint in court which is required by policy. The Coast Guard and DHS will have six months to investigate the claim. The Coast Guard can choose to settle the claim or deny it which would give lawyers another six months to file a lawsuit in court.
Christine Dunn, a lawyer for Sanford Heisler Sharp said they are currently seeking $10 million in damages for each client.
“It’s a big number but the reason is because for a lot of these people, their careers were ruined,” Dunn said. “For the people who had to drop out of the academy because of what happened to them, they were denied this career path that would have been financially secure for them and for others who managed to keep going through the academy, it impacted their ability to get promotions.”
The former cadets allege that the Coast Guard’s negligence caused them to be “severely and irreparably harmed” despite the academy’s responsibility for its students. Dunn said they are hoping that the filings will encourage others to come forward so they can “assemble an army of survivors.” At the administrative level, each individual has to file their own complaint but if it goes to court, “it can potentially be a class action,” she added.
A Coast Guard Academy spokesman said they received the claims and that federal law “prevents us from discussing the details.”
In the emailed statement, the spokesman added that “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.”
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The complaints were filed after CNN’s reporting of the Coast Guard’s internal investigation, “Operation Fouled Anchor,” which looked at more than 100 incidents of sexual assault and harassment at the academy between 1980 and the early 2000s.
The investigation found widespread sexual misconduct at the academy went unchecked and that leaders routinely mishandled or concealed reports of sexual assaults. Many perpetrators went on to high-ranking leadership positions without punishment.
Among the assailants in the 13 former cadet cases, “some of these people ended up getting to the levels where you need congressional approval to get there,” Dunn said.
The report led to numerous congressional inquiries, including an August 2024 Senate report that said the agency enabled “systemic sexual assault and harassment, including a culture of silencing, retaliation, and failed accountability.”
Complaints by three former cadets that were reviewed by Task & Purpose included narratives of their sexual assaults that began in the academy and the long-lasting effects it had on their lives inside and outside the Coast Guard.
The filings detailed sexual assaults against the cadets from classmates, repeated attempts to report the alleged crimes that fell on deaf ears, and fears of repercussions to both their careers and themselves.
“The man who sexually assaulted me at the Coast Guard Academy was continually promoted in the Coast Guard, retiring as a Coast Guard Commander. In contrast, I lost my career and was forced to take a medical retirement due to the PTSD that I continually experienced after the sexual assaults,” Jane Doe 1 wrote in her complaint.
For John Doe, the sole man represented in the administrative complaints, he described a sexual assault on top of severe hazing by fellow cadets that escalated to sexual assault. According to the filing, he reported the attacks to the superintendent of the Coast Guard at the time. He also sought out the academy’s cadet counselor but said he was told, “Things like that don’t happen to real men.”
John Doe said the “lasting emotional scars” from his experiences at the academy impacted his personal relationships, mental health and eventually, his civilian career. His enduring emotional distress and PTSD affected his sleep, causing him to wake up in the middle of the night screaming and throwing punches. The trauma also put a strain on his personal relationships and led to two failed marriages.
With his career, John Doe said he did not get commissioned into the Coast Guard and after years of “excelling” in his civilian job, his position was “suddenly terminated as soon as my employer learned that I was in treatment for PTSD.”
In addition to the mental and physical health effects that the sexual assaults had on the three cadets, the complaints all detailed the impacts that the sexual assaults had on their careers.
Jane Doe 2 did pursue a Coast Guard career but explained that her first unit performance review was rated low because of a lack of self-confidence, which she attributed to the assault. In the complaint filing, Jane Doe 2 recalled being told that, “I had all of the technical knowledge necessary, but that my lack of self-confidence caused me to be rated lower.”
She said her low reviews made her pursue a reserve career instead of an active duty position but she found herself still being passed over during a promotion round for lieutenant commander. She was not promoted and returned to a lower rank.
“It felt like I was being punished for my own assault, even when I was doing the right thing,” she wrote. “To this day, I have a hard time receiving feedback at work due to the stress and anxiety I have experienced ever since my assault.”
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