Sexual Assault in the Military: Suit Filed Against Naval Academy Superintendent by Alleged Rape Victim

A federal lawsuit has been filed by the 21-year-old midshipman who has accused three former U.S. Naval Academy football players of sexual assault requesting the superintendent of the university, Vice Adm. Michael Miller, be removed from deciding whether or not the accused will face a court-martial, according to the Associated Press.

The suit alleges that Miller made it difficult for the alleged victim, the press has not named the woman as is customary in sexual assault cases, to come forward with her case because he did nothing to protect her from harassment from fellow midshipman nor did he punish the accused men for bragging about their alleged sexual encounters on the Internet, according to the Washington Post.

An Article 32 hearing was held over Labor Day weekend in which the alleged victim testified for five days, often complaining of being too tired to go on, about how after drinking excessively at a party she could not remember if she had had sex with the accused midshipmen. After hearing other midshipmen gossip about how she had had sex with multiple people at the party the 21-year-old alleged victim became concerned that she had been taken advantage of, according to the Associated Press.

The lawsuit, which refers to the alleged victim as Jane Doe, charges that Miller covered up the incident to protect his own interests as superintendent of the university.

"The superintendent, acting from afar and without ever setting foot in the courtroom, intentionally subverted the judicial process in order to punish Midshipman Doe for daring to blow the whistle publicly on wrongdoing by Naval Academy football players and the subsequent cover-up," the lawsuit said. "He acted from bias because his own career interests in being perceived as a strong leader of the academy were at stake."

The suit also contends that the lengthy cross-examination Midshipman Doe endured during the Article 32 hearing was excessive and that Miller should have acted to prevent it, according to the Washington Post.

"The superintendent ordered Midshipman Doe to endure an abusive schedule of cross-examination lasting in excess of 30 hours, in which defense counsel's questions went well beyond the scope of her direct, and well exceeded any relevant discovery," the lawsuit said. "Such a lengthy cross-examination, standing alone, would be troubling even if conducted on non-emotional topics and in reasonable increments with the witness afforded the needed opportunity to rest between sessions."

This case has come to the limelight in part because of the attention the problem of sexual assault within the military has received since a report in the spring revealed that there were roughly 26,000 instances of sexual assault within the military in 2012.

One aspect that has been discussed at great length when trying to find a solution to the sexual assault epidemic within the military is touched on by this lawsuit; the role superior officers play in the military justice system. It has been argued by lawmakers that victims are afraid to report sexual assaults because any justice will go through their superior officer, exactly the situation alleged by this lawsuit. The Pentagon has insisted that in order to maintain military discipline sexual assault cases must go through the chain of command.