While little is known about the disciplined employees, three of the five civilian employees were mid-level supervisors. Out of the five civilians, three were disciplined and two resigned. The sixth person, who was a service member, was discharged from the Coast Guard.
Santos said the six people had used government computers over a period of 2 ½ years to have inappropriate discussions, send sexually explicit and other inappropriate content to each other, and some of them had sex on the academy grounds during workdays.
Even though the sex was consensual, and between adults, Rear Adm. Sandra L. Stosz, the superintendent of the academy said in a statement, “The Coast Guard has extensive policies outlining appropriate actions and behaviors in the workplace and on government property. When an individual is suspected of violating these policies, we carefully follow the system in place to protect the rights of all involved in the matter.”
Stosz had denied a Freedom of Information Act request for the report on the investigations by theday.com last week citing privacy exemptions.
No criminal charges were filed, and Santos said he could not divulge specific information about the individuals who had been disciplined. According to Santos, the academy’s policy prohibits civilian employees and military members from having sex at the facility.
The Coast Guard had begun its investigations into the allegations last summer and the probe resulted in a more than 2,000 page report, which remains inaccessible to the media. There are more than 200 civilians working at the academy in various posts like health care professionals and engineers.