Just as the Navy struggles to move beyond Tail-hook, a potential new scandal has surfaced at a Navy training school, where seven instructors are accused of demanding sex from female students in exchange for passing grades.
The case involves at least 16 enlisted women who were learning to operate the Navy's computer and telephone networks at the Naval Training Center San Diego, Lt. Patrick Dennison, a spokesman for the school, said Sunday.Most of the allegations involve verbal harassment, with some physical abuse such as grabbing by the male instructors, he said.
"As far as what was actually said, I don't know," said Dennison. "But the gist of it was that grades would be withheld . . . that they would be given a rough time if they didn't agree to have sex."
All of the instructors under investigation have served in the Navy at least six years, "long enough to know better," Dennison said.
The allegations further tarnish the Navy's record on sexual har-ass-ment. Dozens of women said they were groped and molested by drunken Navy and Marine aviators at the 1991 Tailhook Association convention at the Las Vegas Hil-ton.
Just last week, former Navy Lt. Paula Coughlin won a $6.7 million jury award against Hilton Hotels Corp. and settled out of court with the San Diego-based association.
"There is still the misconception that this kind of thing is condoned by the Navy," Dennison said Sunday. "But the message to people who think they can get away with this sort of thing is that they can't. They are going to pay the consequences."
The latest alleged harassment occurred at the Internal Communications "A" School of the Service School Command between March 1993 and September of this year, when an investigation was ordered.