FINGER-POINTING

Rape Lawsuit Filed at West Point

By two former female students.

Two women have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland, claiming that they were raped and saying there is "rampant sexual harassment" that's being ignored at both institutions. The women, Karley Marquet and Annie Kendzior, say that despite reporting rape cases at the academies, neither perpetrator was punished. The suit says former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the heads of both schools, and the secretaries of the Army and Navy should be held responsible to prevent sexual assault cases. A Department of Defense study has found that such cases are up 60 percent. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta recently announced the creation of a Special Victims Unit charged with investigating sexual assault cases.