U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut has accused leaders at the Coast Guard of a coverup after a damning report this month found dozens of mishandled sex assault cases at the academy in New London.
The secret internal investigation uncovered over 60 reports of rape and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy from 1988 through 2006 that were kept hidden or treated as minor offenses. School officials would often blame the accusers, dole out so-called punishment to the alleged perpetrators in the form of extra homework and cover up the accusations instead of notifying law enforcement.
Senator Murphy (D-CT) said any Coast Guard official involved in hiding the report from the public should be fired.
"My hope and belief is that this report will be the final wake-up call that the academy needs to get serious about protecting students,” Murphy said, adding that the Coast Guard has repeatedly ignored calls for reforms at the academy regarding its policies on harassment and discrimination.
His comments come one day before Adm. Linda Fagan, commandant of the Coast Guard, is scheduled to testify before a subcommittee of the Senate's Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
“There are a million unanswered questions," Murphy said. "This is simply unbelievable that the Coast Guard knew that they had a serious problem of sexual assault and harassment and they deliberately covered it up.”
Murphy said the Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Coast Guard will consider adding language to its budget that will require accountability and transparency for sex assault cases at the academy.
The Coast Guard has admitted that it failed the victims and apologized for not acting sooner.
"The Coast Guard fully recognizes that, by not having taken appropriate action at the time of the sexual assaults, the Coast Guard may have further traumatized the victims, delayed access to their care and recovery and prevented some cases from being referred to the military justice system for appropriate accountability," a spokesperson said in a statement. "The Coast Guard owns this failure and apologizes to each of the victims and their loved ones."
Murphy called the apology "too little, too late."
"There were repeated calls for the Coast Guard to get serious about what many believed to be a culture of harassment," he said.
The Coast Guard said the investigation was not disclosed widely in 2020 when it concluded, and that the academy has since reformed its policies for reporting, investigating and prosecuting sexual assault allegations.
Murphy said after Fagan testifies this week, he may call her and other academy officials for a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, which he chairs.
