8 women allege rape, harassment in military suit
Recent Cases
Eight current and former members of the U.S. military allege in a new federal lawsuit that they were raped, assaulted or harassed during their service and suffered retaliation when they reported it to their superiors.
The lawsuit, being filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, accuses the military of a having a "high tolerance for sexual predators in their ranks" and of fostering a hostile environment that discourages victims of sexual assault from coming forward and punishes them when they do. The suit says the Defense Department has failed to take aggressive steps to confront the problem despite public statements suggesting otherwise.
The eight women include an active-duty enlisted Marine and seven veterans of the Navy and Marine Corps. Seven women allege that a comrade raped or tried to sexually assault them, including in a commanding officer's office after a pub crawl in Washington and inside a Navy barracks room in Florida. The eighth says she was harassed and threatened while deployed overseas, only to be told by a superior that "this happens all the time."
The women say they've suffered depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder because of the assaults. One woman says she tried to commit suicide after being raped inside her row home by a senior officer and his civilian friend.
Related listings
-
Calif. jury awards $167M in sexual harassment suit
Recent Cases 03/03/2012A Northern California jury has awarded $167 million to a former hospital employee who claimed in a lawsuit that she was sexually harassed at work and fired after she repeatedly complained. The federal court jury found Sacramento's Mercy General Hospi...
-
Federal court orders May 29 primary date for Texas
Recent Cases 03/02/2012The federal court in San Antonio has ordered Texas to hold its primary elections on May 29, resolving for now one of the biggest issues in the state's redistricting battles. The three-judge panel issued the election schedule two days after releasing ...
-
French court rules genocide law unconstitutional
Recent Cases 02/29/2012France's Constitutional Council ruled Tuesday that a French law concerning the mass killings of Armenians a century ago violates the country's constitution. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had personally backed the law, immediately said he woul...