West Point cadet misses graduation, may be tossed out for failing physical after reported rape

A female cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point was reportedly raped while she was an enlisted soldier, which resulted in her failing to pass a physical test required for graduating with her class in May. Rather than making an exception to let her graduate with her class or to delay her graduation, West Point may disenroll her and send her back to the military as an enlisted soldier.

On May 21, three days before graduation, the cadet’s attorney, R. Davis Younts, wrote a letter to West Point, appealing the “Academic Review Board's recommendation to disenroll” his client, "and return her to enlisted duty for failing to pass the Indoor Obstacle Course Test (IOCT)."

“Cadet Doe,” Younts wrote, as his client wishes to remain anonymous, “was raped by a non-commissioned officer [NCO] during her enlisted service, an assault that occurred because of her military service and has left her with lasting psychological trauma and medical complications.”

He added that the board’s recommendation “fails to consider these trauma-related challenges, her measurable progress on the IOCT, and her exemplary academic, military, and leadership record, rendering it arbitrary and capricious.”

Younts’ letter alleges that the rape occurred “during remedial physical training in a basement gym, [and] created a deep psychological association between gym environments, upper-body exercises, and trauma. The IOCT, which heavily tests upper-body strength, engages this trauma in ways that have hindered her ability to pass, despite her sustained effort and measurable improvement.”

Cadet's rape left physical trauma

If West Point forces her to return “to enlisted service,” it “would not only dismiss her remarkable achievements at USMA but also expose her to environments that could retrigger her trauma, posing significant risks to her mental health and well-being,” Younts added.

The cadet “was diagnosed with a high-grade cervical lesion resulting from HPV contracted during the assault,” he explained. “She underwent a procedure in the fall of 2024 to remove the lesion, which was unsuccessful, requiring additional traumatic biopsies during the 2025 spring break.

"Despite these medical and psychological setbacks, Cadet Doe maintained her academic, military, and physical performance while actively working to overcome her trauma through personal effort and Academy resources, including consultations with a performance psychologist,” Younts continued.

The cadet wrote in a letter to the Academic Review Board on May 18 that following spring break, she “resumed IOCT training with focus and determination and have made tangible progress. I can now complete the wall and the monkey bars—obstacles that once felt impossible—and I can climb the rope even under fatigue and stress.”

“I believe firmly that my inability to pass the IOCT thus far does not diminish my ability to contribute meaningfully to the Army or to fulfill my personal goal of leading with strength and empathy,” she wrote.

“I came to West Point to serve—to improve the lives of soldiers—and I continue to carry that mission with clarity and urgency. I'm not defined by what happened to me, but by how I've chosen to move forward,” the cadet continued. “I hope the Academic Board will see in me a cadet who has demonstrated resilience, accountability, and the will to lead.”

Younts wrote in his appeal letter, “Despite these profound challenges, Cadet Doe's resilience and demonstrated excellence prove she will be an outstanding Army officer. We request her retention and graduation on time with the Class of 2025, rejection of the recommendation to return her to the enlisted environment where she was assaulted, and a waiver of recoupment if disenrollment occurs.”

Disenrollment means that the cadet would not be commissioned after graduating, but she could still receive her diploma, Younts told Just the News on Tuesday. However, West Point administrators could decide to disenroll her, not give her a diploma and and require her to pay recoupment for her education, which he estimated would “probably be close to $400,000.”

Both the cadet’s and Younts’ letters were in response to the board’s recommendation, which came close to graduation because “they gave her up until the final time to try to complete the course successfully,” Younts explained.

Delayed reporting rape for fear of West Point rejection

Younts said that his client had been in enlisted service for three years before she started at West Point. She delayed filing a report of the alleged rape because she was trying to get into the academy. The cadet feared that her goals would be thwarted because enrollment requires recommendations from her chain of command, which included the non-commissioned officer who allegedly raped her. The case was dropped after she didn’t participate in the investigation while she was at West Point.

The sexual assault is “in her medical records,” and the academy is “aware of it,” Younts noted.

He said that the female cadet has not yet been informed if West Point will follow the Academic Review Board’s recommendation, but “she was told to turn in her class ring.” Younts says he has heard that the academy intends “to disenroll her, order her to go back to enlisted service for four years, go back as a junior soldier in an environment where she was sexually assaulted by an NCO.”

He explained that the IOCT is a graduation requirement for West Point specifically, which was implemented in 2012, but is not part of Army regulations. “I don’t know what exceptions, if any, are granted for other people,” Younts said.

“I can’t imagine there haven’t been many cadets injured in their final semester as athletes or otherwise,” and that “because of a sprained ankle their final semester, they can’t graduate on time,” he added. “It can’t be the case – I know injured cadets graduate.”

“The superintendent of West Point makes the decision” about whether to follow the board’s recommendation, Younts said.

He added that he went “directly to the superintendent, asking him to intervene,” and the superintendent “politely declined and said that the IOCT is a requirement for graduation.”

“They could let her graduate in the fall” and “keep her class ring, like other academies do,” which would be “reasonable treatment,” Younts said.

It’s “cruel the way she’s been treated,” he added.

Officials at West Point did not provide comment to Just the News by publishing time.