Few midshipmen accused of sexual assault at the U.S. Naval Academy are prosecuted for their alleged crimes, and most of the accused end up simply being expelled, leaving without a criminal record, according to an investigation published today in The Washington Post. That pattern is common at other American colleges and universities, but at the Naval Academy, officials have the authority to bring charges against students under the military’s own criminal-justice system.

A report issued last summer found that female midshipmen still face “hostile attitudes and inappropriate actions” from their fellow students, despite recent progress in dealing with sexual harassment and assault at the Naval Academy (The Chronicle, August 29, 2005).