Sexual Misconduct

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court, widening its review of sexual harassment in the workplace, agreed yesterday to decide whether employers are to blame if a supervisor makes unwanted advances toward a worker who suffers no harm on the job for rebuffing the overtures.A company based in Chicago, Burlington Industries, contends in an appeal that if the worker is only threatened with some loss of job opportunity for failing to submit, the threat alone should not make the company liable for supervisors' sexual harassment.

SPARKS, Nev. -- At 12: 30 Sunday morning, in the hotel that is playing host to this year's Tailhook convention, the hallways were stone silent. A handful of pilots drank beer in a suite with the door open; two women passed by, without incident. As 1 a.m. neared, one of the men peeled off to bunk down for the night.This is what the Tailhook Convention looks like eight years after a sexual misconduct scandal that came to symbolize what critics said was an official tolerance for swaggering libido in the armed forces.

A former top midshipman at the Naval Academy was recommended for expulsion yesterday for sexual misconduct, a case that has divided the school for nearly five months and called into question its handling of sexual assault claims.Scott T. Ward, who earlier this year commanded half the midshipmen brigade and was headed for the Navy's elite commando team, was ordered expelled by Capt. William T. R. Bogle, the second-highest officer, after a half-hour meeting."We're very disappointed with it," said William B. Cummings, Ward's attorney.

WILLIAM Jefferson Clinton vs. Paula Corbin Jones - did then-Gov. Clinton sexually harass a low-level Arkansas clerical worker earning $6.35 per hour?While largely dismissed or ignored by the mainstream media earlier, Stuart Taylor's article in The American Lawyer (November 1996) and Evan Thomas' recent cover article in Newsweek, followed by last week's hearings on whether President Clinton should be immune from the suit until after he leaves office, have generated heavy interest and thrust the case into the public spotlight.

Three trainers accused of sexual misconduct at an Aberdeen Proving Ground school will face the most serious level of court-martial, officials said yesterday, even as Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski said she supported congressional hearings on the harassment of military women.The "general" courts-martial can impose the toughest penalties, including dismissal or imprisonment, said Capt. Craig Minnick, an Army lawyer at the base. Two of the trainers -- Capt. Derrick Robertson and Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson -- are facing charges that range from harassment to rape.

When a female player wants a private chat, Seton Keough basketball coach Jim Stromberg leaves his office door open -- though the walls are made of glass.If a Dulaney High runner wants a victory hug, cross country coach Bob Dean offers her a handshake instead.Should one of his basketball players need a ride after practice, Annapolis High coach Dave Griffith offers to call her folks. "There's no way today that I'd take a player home," says Griffith, a retired policeman.Male high school coaches in the Baltimore area say they now take extra precautions to stay safely in bounds when working with female athletes, in light of three recent sexual misconduct cases that have put them all under scrutiny.

The Rev. Steve Smith knows what it's like to have church members play matchmaker.It's subtle. A church member takes him to dinner and spends the evening talking about an eligible granddaughter.But the 28-year-old single pastor, also knows how to get out of a sticky situation."Oh gee, have you heard I'm engaged?" asks Mr. Smith, who serves a Lutheran church in Virginia, Minn.The truth works every time. The matchmaker's fantasy sizzles. Talk quickly shifts to mashed potatoes.It used to be that single pastors were expected to find a mate in congregations they served.

Also Thursday, an article about Sen. Bob Packwood should have stated that the Senate Ethics Committee is investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against the Oregon senator. According to the committee, the focus of its inquiry into Mr. Packwood's behavior involves "allegations of sexual misconduct, attempts to intimidate and discredit the alleged victims, and misuse of official staff in attempts to intimidate and discredit."The Sun regrets the errors.

WASHINGTON -- The Army has reprimanded the former commanding general of an Aberdeen Proving Ground training school and others who were in leadership positions when a sexual misconduct scandal rocked the Maryland base last fall and spurred an Army-wide investigation, Pentagon and congressional sources said.Maj. Gen. Robert D. Shadley Jr., who commanded the U.S. Ordnance Center and School, and at least 10 other officers and senior noncommissioned officers who served under him will receive letters of reprimand and other administrative punishment that will likely end their careers, sources said.

A longtime coach at the Baltimore swim club that has turned out several Olympians — including Michael Phelps — resigned after an allegation of "inappropriate conduct" with a female athlete was revealed, officials of the sport's national governing body said Friday. The North Baltimore Aquatic Club reported the coach, who was not identified, to swimming authorities in October 2011, according to USA Swimming, the Colorado-based governing body. The coach was forced out of the position within 48 hours after club officials became aware of the allegation last fall, and the club contacted Baltimore County authorities, a source with knowledge of the situation said.