More former cadets are accusing the U.S. Coast Guard Academy of failing to prevent sexual assault on campus

Nine former U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets have formally accused the prestigious service academy’s regulators of failing to prevent and appropriately address sexual assault on campus while simultaneously covering it up.

The claims, filed Wednesday, come more than a month after thirteen former cadets filed similar federal complaints each seeking $10 million in damages.

Many of the last unnamed plaintiffs contacted attorneys in the case after reading news accounts of the first wave of administrative complaints filed against the Coast Guard; its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security; and its former parent agency, the Department of Transportation, attorney Christine Dunn said.

“I’m sure these 22 are just the tip of the iceberg. “I know that sexual abuse has been happening at the Coast Guard Academy for decades and there are many survivors,” she said. Among the 22 are twenty women and two men.

Dunn said she hopes and expects more former cadets who have been assaulted will come forward.

“I want an army of survivors,” she said. “I think the more people you have, the harder it is to ignore us.”

The complaints stem from incidents dating back to the 1980s and as recently as 2017. Several details describe how the former cadets were attacked in their dormitories by classmates who were able to gain access because Academy policies prevented cadets from locking their doors . A former cadet described going to bed at night with a sleeping bag wrapped tightly around her neck because she was so afraid of being sexually assaulted in her sleep.

“The Coast Guard negligently created, tolerated, and actively concealed the rampant nature of sexual harassment and assault at the Academy, which knowingly placed me and other cadets in danger,” one of the nine new plaintiffs wrote.

“What happened to me was the completely preventable consequence of the negligent actions,” wrote the woman, who said she was sexually assaulted twice during her time at the Academy — once by a classmate and once by an officer. Years later, she was diagnosed with depression and PTSD related to military sexual trauma, or MST, and now receives partial disability benefits.

The academy experience, she said, “ruined” her career and “negatively affected” many relationships she has had over the years.

A message seeking comment was left with the Coast Guard. In a statement released in September, officials said the agency was barred by federal law from discussing the complaints and noted that it “dedicates significant resources to improving prevention, victim support and accountability . ”

The complaints follow revelations that the Coast Guard kept secret an investigation, called Operation Fouled Anchor, into sexual assault and harassment on campus. The investigation found that dozens of cases involving cadets were mishandled by the school between 1990 and 2006, including preventing some perpetrators from being prosecuted.

The revelations, first reported by CNN, led to calls for major reforms and long-awaited accountability for offenders and those who protected them. There are multiple government and congressional investigations into the mishandling of serious misconduct at school and beyond.

Coast Guard officials have previously said they are taking action to change and improve the culture at the academy and throughout the service in response to the allegations made in the Operation Fouled Anchor investigation.

Wednesday’s filing marks the first in a multi-step lawsuit seeking to sue the federal government. After an administrative complaint is filed, the agency that allegedly harmed the claimant is given six months or more to investigate the claim. The agency can then settle or deny the claim. If a claim is denied, the plaintiff can file a federal lawsuit, Dunn said.