Three U.S. Naval Academy Football Players Charged with Rape

Earlier today the three U.S. Naval Academy football players accused of raping a female midshipman and then lying about it were finally charged.

Susan Burke, the lawyer for the victim, says Navy officials were dragging their feet, and it’s about damn time they acted on a crime that happened over a year ago.

The three men, including the victim’s former boyfriend, are accused of sexually assaulting a the now 20-year-old during an April 2012 party at an off-campus house used by Academy football players.

The next morning, she woke up with bruises but almost no memory of how she got them. Then, according to an account she gave Monday on CBS News, she began hearing of the alleged assault through posts on Facebook and Twitter. She said that there were witnesses and that the three accused midshipmen bragged to her about what they did.

She was later disciplined for underage drinking, but the players were not, Burke said. The athletes were allowed to keep playing despite being under investigation, and the female midshipman was required to attend football games, Burke said.

Ugh.

A preliminary hearing will likely take place this summer, military law experts told the Washington Post.