Legal Claims Against Coast Guard Grow Over Mishandled Assaults at Academy

Class-action litigation law firm Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, LLP filed an additional Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) administrative complaint against the United States Coast Guard today on behalf of a sexual assault survivor who was a cadet at the Coast Guard Academy.

This latest filing brings the total number of former Academy cadets represented by the firm to 31, in what is believed to be the first known collective action by sexual violence survivors against a United States service academy.

The complaint alleges that the Coast Guard failed to implement adequate policies and practices, allowing sexual violence to go unchecked at the Academy. It further claims that the Coast Guard “condoned and actively concealed the rampant nature of sexual assault and harassment of Academy students, knowingly placing the claimant and other cadets in danger.”

Like many previous complaints, today’s filing highlights that cadets were vulnerable to sexual assault because the Academy refused to let them lock their doors. Several complaints detail disturbing incidents enabled by this policy, including a case where a cadet reported waking up to find an intoxicated, naked male classmate sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions.

“Every time we file a complaint on behalf of a Coast Guard Academy sexual assault survivor, it empowers others to come forward,” said Christine Dunn, Partner and Co-Chair of the Sexual Violence, Title IX, and Victims’ Rights Practice Group at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight.

Ryan Melogy of Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC, who is also representing the claimant, stated, “The Coast Guard knowingly exposed cadets to danger, concealed abuse, and enabled a culture of impunity. These are not isolated failures—they reflect a systemic crisis of its own making that the Coast Guard must finally confront and correct.”

The legal actions come on the heels of Operation Fouled Anchor, an investigation exposed by CNN in 2023 that revealed decades of inadequate handling of sexual assault claims at the Academy and the intentional concealment of the investigative report from Congress. The scandal led to congressional hearings and may have contributed, in part, to Admiral Linda Fagan’s removal from her position as Commandant of the Coast Guard in January 2025.

In response to these incidents, the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2025, introduced in February, proposes mandatory installation of electronic locking mechanisms for cadet rooms, addressing a safety concern raised by victims and Coast Guard personnel for over 25 years.

Although some administrative complaints in this matter were filed more than six months ago, the Coast Guard has not yet made a determination regarding any of them as they are considering the complaints collectively in some respects.

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