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Former defense secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were sued by 28 U.S. veterans who claimed to be victims of sexual assault while in the military. According to an article in The Associated Press, a federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria. The plaintiffs alleged both secretaries not only “fostered a culture that allowed rapists to thrive,” but also “punished assault victims for filing complaints against their attackers.”
One of the allegations came from an Army Reservist who filed a complaint explaining how she was raped by 2 fellow Reservists in Iraq, and they actually videotaped the rape. The rape victim filed the proper complaint with authorities, but charges were never filed because “the commander did not think she acted like a rape victim.”
Rebekah Havrilla, another plaintiff, was raped by another soldier who photographed the attack. According to Havrilla, she complained of the attack and was sent to a military chaplain, who told her it was “God’s will” that she had been raped and recommended to attend church more often.
Despite the allegations, Judge Liam O’Grady threw the case out. According to the judge, it’s not the judiciary’s place to interfere with issues involving military discipline.
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