Sanford Heisler Sharp Files Federal Tort Claims Act Administrative Complaints Against the Coast Guard on Behalf of Sexual Assault Survivors
NEW LONDON, Conn., Sept. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attorneys at Sanford Heisler Sharp today filed thirteen separate Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) 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, (collectively “the Coast Guard”), on behalf of Jane Does 1-12 and John Doe 1, all of whom are former Coast Guard Academy (“the Academy”) cadets who were sexually assaulted during their time at the Academy. In an historic move, 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. 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.
The claimants are represented in the matter by Christine Dunn, Partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp and Co-Chair of the 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.
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 a lawsuit 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. 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. This scrutiny was galvanized by CNN’s 2023 exposé of Operation Fouled Anchor (“OFA”), the Coast Guard’s internal investigation of sexual assault and harassment at the Academy. OFA involved the review of over 100 incidents of sexual assault of Academy students between the 1980s and the early 2000s. The 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 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.”
After concluding the OFA investigation, the Coast Guard orchestrated a systematic effort to keep the investigation’s findings concealed from Congress and the public for years. Coast Guard agents traveled across the country to meet with many of the victims identified in the report, often coercing them into signing non-disclosure agreements about their assaults and falsely telling them that the Coast Guard had informed Congress of OFA’s findings.
CNN’s 2023 report on OFA 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.”
Today, 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 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 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. One claimant endured severe psychological and physical attacks by fellow classmates, culminating in the claimant being pinned to the floor and smacked repeatedly in the face with one attacker’s penis. Another claimant endured sexual assaults at the Academy, and later while on Coast Guard ships, including multiple gang rapes.
The complaints also detail the Coast Guard’s negligent responses to the claimants’ sexual assaults. For example, Academy leaders punished one claimant in connection with her sexual assault, because she willingly allowed the perpetrator to hug her, even though he went on to escalate the hug into a sexual assault. The Coast Guard informed another claimant that the Academy did not investigate her sexual assault report because she had blonde hair and wore make up. The male claimant was told that “things like that don’t happen to real men,” when he tried to report the sexual assault. Other claimants were actively discouraged from filing official reports, being told that it would negatively impact their career and that of their assailant.
“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,” said Dunn. “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.”
“Today marks a historic turning point in addressing the epidemic of sexual violence at the Coast Guard Academy. For far too long, the Coast Guard has relied on a culture of silence, fear, and retaliation to keep survivors from seeking accountability for the horrific injustices they faced as cadets. By filing these complaints, our clients are bravely coming forward, together, to get the justice they sorely deserve,” said Melogy.
About Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP
Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP is a national public interest class-action litigation law firm with offices in Baltimore, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Diego, and Nashville. Sanford Heisler Sharp focuses on employment discrimination, Title IX, wage and hour, whistleblower, criminal/sexual violence, and financial services matters. The firm has recovered over $1 billion for its clients through many verdicts and settlements. The National Law Journal recognized Sanford Heisler Sharp as 2021 Employment Rights Firm of the Year and 2021 Human Rights Firm of the Year.
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If you experienced sexual abuse and are seeking counsel, please call 202-221-3152 or email cdunn@sanfordheisler.com. Attorneys at Sanford Heisler Sharp would like to have the opportunity to help you.
About Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC
Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC is a maritime and military justice law firm focused on the representation of victims of sexual abuse. If you need help reporting abuse and obtaining justice, please contact Ryan Melogy by emailing help@JusticeForMariners.com, texting 347-562-9119, or visiting www.JusticeForMariners.com for a complimentary consultation.
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