Report: US sailors on submarine allegedly created 'rape list'



New York (tca/dpa) - A new probe reveals that Navy submarine sailors compiled a list of female crew members that ranked them according to their attractiveness level.

The "rape list" comprised female sailors aboard the USS Florida - only the second US sub to integrate women.

Military.com obtained the 74-page misconduct report.



 
The report notes that Navy leaders failed to address safety concerns after the sexually explicit list was discovered, which led to the dismissal of a commanding officer.
Captain Gregory Kercher of the guided-missile Florida was fired in August 2018 for a loss of confidence in his leadership abilities, noted the report, which also found "lewd and sexist comments and jokes were tolerated, and trust up and down the chain of command was nonexistent."
Two former submarine sailors are no longer in service, and an undisclosed number have been subjected to administrative punishment in connection the list, Navy officials said.
Kercher's senior adviser alerted him about two lists in June 2018 - one that graded female crew members via a star system; and the second, which included sexually explicit comments next to each name, according to the probe.
"Rumors of a 'rape list' were promulgated throughout the crew, significant numbers of females became concerned for their safety, and male members who learned of the list were equally repulsed," Rear Admiral Jeff Jablon wrote to his superior days before Kercher was relieved of duty. "Very few knew what limited action was being taken by the (command)."

Saturday, May 18th 2019
By Storm Gifford, New York Daily News
           


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