Sexual Harassment by 7 Navy Instructors Alleged

Seven male instructors at a Navy school are being investigated for allegedly demanding sexual favors from women students in exchange for passing grades, a Navy spokesman said Sunday.

The matter involves at least 16 enlisted women who were learning to operate the Navy’s computer and telephone networks at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, according to a school spokesman, Lt. Patrick Dennison.

Most of the allegations involve verbal harassment, with some physical abuse such as grabbing, he said.

Dennison said each of the seven has served at least six years in the Navy--”long enough to know better.”

None of those under investigation has been charged. Dennison said that if any were to be charged and found guilty, “it’s pretty much a career-ender.”

The alleged harassment occurred between March, 1993, and September of this year, when an investigation was ordered. The investigation has been slowed by the fact that of the 23 people alleged to be involved, only four--two victims and two harassers--are still at the school, Dennison said.

The investigation was also reported in the Nov. 14 issue of Newsweek.

The allegations could further tarnish the Navy’s record on sexual harassment. Dozens of women said they were groped and molested by drunken Navy and Marine aviators at the 1991 Tailhook Assn. convention at the Las Vegas Hilton.