For six years, Amy Graham selflessly served her country in the Canadian Armed Forces. Today, she feels betrayed.
“I don't think they tried to protect me,” the victim of sexual assault by a superior told CTV News. “And in fact, I would say that they facilitated it and encouraged it.”
In 2010, Graham was taking a mandatory stop in Cyprus on her way home from Afghanistan.
According to the statement of circumstances agreed to during the court martial, Master Warrant Officer Alan Chapman showed up at her hotel door at 3 a.m., asking to come in. Chapman told Graham that his roommate had a woman in the room - which wasn't true - and asked if he could stay in her room. Graham let him in on the condition he sleep and not talk and indicated the spare bed he would be using.
Instead, he asked her if she would cuddle with him. Graham refused, and reminded Chapman he was going to see his wife and children the next day.
"He then tried to get into my bed,” Graham told CTV News. “His first kiss landed on my neck... and then he was trying to grab my breasts."
Graham ended up having to push Chapman to the door, at which point he started pushing away from it. He finally left when she threatened to call the military police.
Graham says she fought off Chapman’s repeated attempts to force himself on her. When she reported the alleged incident to her superiors, Graham says that nothing happened.
Years after leaving the military, and struggling with PTSD, depression and anxiety, Graham went to military police, who laid two charges against Chapman, including sexual assault.
Chapman was court-martialled on Monday. In a plea deal, he pleaded guilty to disgraceful conduct. The criminal charge was stayed.
Chapman was fined $2,500 and demoted one rank from Master Warrant Officer to Warrant Officer.
Graham thinks the punishments handed out by military courts in sexual assault cases are inadequate.
“A $2,000 fine on an administrative charge,” Graham told CTV News. “You might as well let them walk away because that's a slap in the face.”
The military has vowed to crack down on sexual harassment and assault, but dissatisfied with their response, Graham and other alleged victims have launched a class action lawsuit, stating that the military failed to protect them and discouraged the reporting of incidents.
“I was told if you're ever harassed or assaulted, or you hear jokes, don't complain,” Graham told CTV News. “I was told it is a career ruiner if you do complain.”
Michel Drapeau has represented many military sex assault victims and believes thousands of plaintiffs could come forward.
“Victims will have a sense that they're taken seriously,” Drapeau told CTV News.
Graham hopes legal action will force change for future generations.
“Real justice is going to come from everything stopping, the people behind me not having to be harassed or sexually assaulted, or put up with any of the ridiculous innuendos and comments and actions,” she said.
Today, the military acknowledged the lawsuit. Although they wouldn’t comment on it, they say they will study it to determine their next steps.
With a report from CTV’s Mercedes Stephenson
Alan Chapman Statement of Circumstances by Laura Payton on Scribd
