The Defense Department iInspector gGeneral is looking into a complaint about how the Air Force Academy handled past sexual assault cases.
In an Oct. 21 memo released by the IG late Tuesday yesterday, the agency said it is examining whether criminal investigations — including investigations of alleged sexual assault involving aAcademy football players — met investigative standards. The agency will also determine if there were "barriers to investigating allegations of criminal misconduct, to include sexual assault."
The memo, from the deputy inspector general for policy and oversight, Randolph Stone, was directed to the assistant secretary of the Air Force.
It was not clear from the document what prompted the review. Inspector gGeneral spokeswoman Bridget Ann Serchak did not immediately return a telephone message.
In an email statement, aAcademy spokesman Lt. Col. Brus Vidal said school officials were notified of the DoD iInspector gGeneral probe in October.
"The United States Air Force Academy will fully participate in this evaluation and look forward to the results," Vidal said. "We remain focused on fostering an environment that reinforces a of culture respect and a climate of commitment to Air Force core values and the Nation."
The latest probe by the iInspector gGeneral follows a series of embarrassments for the aAcademy's athletic department.
Most recently, the CEO of the Air Force Academy Athletic Corp., a nonprofit fundraising organization, resigned following his Nov. 11 arrest in a prostitution sting. Dermot Coll, a 1995 aAcademy graduate, had also worked as an assistant lacrosse coach, assistant athletic director and associate athletic director at his alma mater.
A year ago, former academy cadet Eric Thomas said he was ordered to break cadet policy while working as a confidential informant, investigating drug use and sexual assault among football players, and then abandoned by academy officials and expelled when he got into trouble. Lawmakers criticized the confidential informant program as being incompatible with the academy's honor code. The academy's inspector general concluded that the bulk of the demerits Thomas collected that resulted in his expulsion were not tied to his work as an informant.
Local newspaper The Gazette in August detailed allegations of heavy drinking, use of drugs including date rape drugs, and sexual assault at parties. A 2011 party led to an investigation of 32 cadets for alleged misconduct, three of whom – two football players and a female basketball player – were court-martialed, convicted and expelled.
The aAcademy's inspector general in October gave the athletic department a grade of "effective" — the equivalent of a "C." The review found some areas need improvement but found a follow-up legal investigation was unnecessary.
