USD 130M Lawsuit Filed Against Coast Guard Academy

United States – On Thursday, more than a dozen former students of the U. S. Coast Guard Academy who claim to have been raped submitted letters of complaint to the academy demanding USD 130m in damages for alleged negligence in addressing sexual violence on campus, as reported by Reuters.

The former students submitted administrative complaints to the U. S. Coast Guard, stating that the academy in New London, Connecticut, for about thirty-seven years, tolerated sexual abusers and did not provide remedies or justice to the victims.

Twelve Women and One Man Seek USD 10 Million Each

It includes 12 women and one man out of the former students of this group, according to the court statement by Christine Dunn, an attorney. Each is suing for USD 10 million in damages.

The Coast Guard has been in the news for a year on the issue since a media expose accused it of concealing abuse by its members for decades, and a Senate subcommittee said it silenced victims and did not punish the offenders.

The complaints were made under a federal law that allows the complaints to be made administratively before being made in a lawsuit.

The U. S. Coast Guard refused to comment on the complaints and stated that they would address them as per federal laws.

The spokesperson stated that the Coast Guard wants to keep its workforce safe and is now ‘investing substantial amounts’ in safety prevention and survivor assistance as well as investigating the matters.

Feminists’ complaints are that they were assaulted from the mid-1980s to the present, according to Dunn.

Legal Loophole Allows Complaints to Be Filed Decades Later

However, federal law only permits the filing of complaints within two years of an incident. However, Dunn said that the clock did not begin until the previous year when her clients discovered that the Coast Guard was responsible for their abuse.

In December, a U. S. Senate subcommittee conducted a hearing following a CNN report in August 2023 that the U. S. Coast Guard hid an internal probe that substantiated allegations of abuse at the academy.

Coast Guard’s Commitment to Change

In its report released last month, the subcommittee said that the Coast Guard shamed victims from reporting their cases. They were neglected and mistreated, prisoners were beaten as punishment, and victims were not taken for medical attention when needed, the study revealed, as reported by Reuters.

In June, U. S. Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan said to the subcommittee that the agency had not always “provided for a culture of safety for everyone. ”