3 midshipmen charged with sexual assault

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The U.S. Naval Academy yesterday charged three midshipmen -- all current or former football players -- with sexually assaulting a female student at an off-campus house in Annapolis more than a year ago.

The academy said in a news release that the male midshipmen are being charged with two violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. One charge involves rape, sexual assault or other sexual misconduct. The other is for making a false official statement.

The academy did not identify the three male students, and it was not immediately clear if they have an attorney.

Two of the students were football players this past season, but they are not on the team anymore. Another is still on the team, but he has been suspended.

"The case is still in the pre-trial phase, so any further comment on this ongoing investigation would be inappropriate," said Cmdr. John Schofield, an academy spokesman.

The case has brought renewed focus to how military academies handle reports of sexual assaults. The service academies have struggled for years with sexual assault and harassment allegations, and a string of sexual assault cases has recently drawn attention in Congress and at the Pentagon and White House.

President Barack Obama addressed the sexual assault problem when he spoke at the academy's commissioning ceremony last month. The president said those who commit sexual assault threaten the trust and discipline that make the military strong.

The alleged assault occurred in April 2012. The woman's attorney, Susan Burke, has said the woman woke up with bruises after a night of heavy drinking and later learned from friends and social media that three football players she considered friends were claiming to have had sex with her while she was intoxicated and blacked out.