Federal legislation proposed to protect Coast Guard Academy cadets who file sexual assault reports

NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — Bipartisan federal legislation is being introduced that would protect U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets who report a sexual assault from being disciplined for minor collateral misconduct, such as underage drinking. Such a change would put the Connecticut service academy in line with policies at Department of Defense military academies. House members from Connecticut, California, Mississippi and Washington are co-sponsoring the bill. It comes amid recent revelations that the service did not widely disclose a six-year internal investigation it had conducted, known as Operation Fouled Anchor, into dozens of cases of sexual assault and misconduct between 1988 and 2006.