Marines to reopen sex harassment case
New investigation focuses on allegations at Quantico
WASHINGTON – Marine Corps Commandant Robert Neller has ordered a new investigation into allegations of sexual harassment brought by two civilian employees against a Marine officer, according to a Marines statement.
The allegations, first reported by USA TODAY last month, include sexually explicit overtures to the women dating to 2013 at their office on the base at Quantico, Va. The women maintain the Marines had minimized their concerns.
The new investigation was ordered March 9, two days after the newspaper reported about complaints of a toxic work environment at the Marine and Family Program Division where the women work.
The investigation will focus on the complaints of Sherry Yetter and Traci Sharpe. They say Maj. David Cheek arranged to meet them privately on several occasions on the base and showed them his erection through his clothing. Cheek has denied that the incidents took place.
“An investigating officer was appointed to re-investigate the sexual harassment allegations previously made by Ms. Yetter and Ms. Sharpe,” Maj. Garron Garn, a Marine Corps spokesman, said in a statement. “The investigating officer may examine any evidence related to the allegations. For privacy considerations, no additional details regarding the investigation are available for release at this time.”
The complaints of Yetter and Sharpe, along with others about discrimination and bad bosses, spurred the Marines to launch an inspector general’s investigation in 2015 into the climate at the Marine and Family Program Division.
Among its findings was that Marine Col. Ernest Ackiss, who had investigated a sexual harassment claim made by Sharpe, was later counseled himself for harassing the wife of the unit’s chaplain, referring to her as “eye candy.”
“The Marines should reinvestigate these allegations, but that is step one of one hundred,” said Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., a member of the Armed Services Committee. “The Marines have a problem with this case, with the way they staff and run the Marine and Family Program Division in at least one location, and with a broader culture of rot that fosters an environment rife with sexual harassment and violence. I look forward to being briefed by Marine leadership on the next 99 steps.”
Yetter said she was encouraged by the new investigation: “I feel a little more validated, I feel a little more heard, and I now have a little more hope that the true change for all victims of sexual harassment just might be coming after all.”
Sharpe was less hopeful. “While this may sound like great news on the surface, my claims have been investigated and swept under the rug three times already,” Sharpe said. “I remain cautiously optimistic that I will see true justice served this time.”
A new investigation was necessary, said Scott Jensen, CEO of Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group for victims of sexual assault in the military and a retired Marine colonel.
“This is the only right decision to ensure justice was in fact served,” Jensen said.