Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy

The Coast Guard Allowed a Known Sexual Predator off With a Slap on the Wrist, then Advanced Him in Rank

** This anonymous U.S. Coast Guard Survivor Testimonial was originally submitted to “The Pettiest Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard” on Facebook in May of 2024 and re-published by MLAA. MLAA does not know the identity of the author and has not verified any of the claims or allegations made in this testimonial. Light formatting changes for readability, or redactions for PII may have been applied before publishing. **

Hello friend, first thank you and Whistler Mcgee for your courage (and all the people who have stepped up to speak their truth)! You have blown the lid off this shit! I have been tracking Fouled Anchor closely and I have felt that’s only a small part of the CG’s story. Just a thought if you haven’t done so already… I bet CNN, who blew the top off the Academy coverup, would be quite interested in all the stories of the enlisted as well. I know for some people this history even starts in Cape May.

My story is minor in comparison to many you have been telling (mine is harassment, not assault, and I’m leaving it fairly general as to keep it as anonymous as possible), but it started at my first unit as a non-rate when an HS decided to make some inappropriate comments while touching me in an area he had no reason to (by my face… as if just testing the waters, he even mentioned to me that there was no reason to be touching me where he was). The bigger issue was when the CG conducted an investigation and allowed a predator who was found to have sexually harassed at least two female subordinates to continue serving, in addition to having a much longer history (even though several other women provided statements of past behaviors, that was not considered as part of the investigation – and we were not told beforehand that they wouldn’t be able to use these statements, so we dredged up those feelings for nothing). He was of course let off with what can’t even be considered a slap on the wrist, in addition to being advanced (which more rank usually equals more people afraid to speak up).

I know most women in the CG (and let’s be real, in our country) have these stories. When this behavior is allowed (and not punished appropriately), it progresses into more… into assault. There’s a reason the “bear vs. man in the woods” question exists. I’ve thought long and hard about dropping some of these stories you and Whistler have been posting to CNN, but I feel that’s not my place – it’s yours/theirs. But if there’s anything you need to get more attention… happy to help.

We’ve been silent too long. The sleeping giant has been woken.

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