Charges filed against Navy football players accused of sexual assault
After deciding to move forward with the case against three Navy football players yesterday, specific charges have been filed against the Midshipmen by the U.S. Naval Academy.
The academy said in a news release that the male midshipmen are being charged with two violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. One involves rape, sexual assault or other sexual misconduct. The other is for making a false official statement.
The academy did not identify the three students, and it was not immediately clear if they have an attorney.
Two of the students were football players this past season, but they are not on the team anymore. Another is still on the team, but he has been suspended pending the outcome of the case.
The alleged incident took place last year in off-campus housing, when a female midshipman passed out after a night of drinking, waking up to bruises and no idea where they came from. According to CBS News and the Washington Post, she claimed there were witnesses and that her attackers bragged to her about the assault.
The accuser's lawyer, Susan Burke, told the Washington Post that the athletes were allowed to continue playing and the accuser was required to attend football games.
Earlier this month the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing to discuss the Pentagon report that 26,000 members of the military may have been sexually assaulted in 2012, up from an estimated 19,000 assaults in 2011.
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