Cover-up of Coast Guard sex abuse cases prompts Senate inquiry
By Leo Shane III
Sep 15, 01:15 PM
Senators this week launched a formal investigation into reports that Coast Guard leaders mishandled sexual assault investigations at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy for years and then hid the mistakes from public view.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., called the allegations unsettling both because of the crimes committed and the lack of appropriate response from senior leaders.
The issues came to light earlier this summer after a series of reports by CNN and other outlets, chronicling dozens of sexual assault reports filed by academy cadets dating back to the late 1980s which were ignored or covered up.
“It is unclear whether those responsible have continued their careers in the Coast Guard, received higher positions of authority, or left service and escaped accountability all together,” the senators wrote in a Sept. 12 letter to service officials. “The public deserves to know why so many reported cases of sexual assault and harassment were allowed to go uninvestigated for so many years.”
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2023/09/15/cover-up-of-coast-guard-sex-abuse-cases-prompts-senate-inquiry/