St. Mary Academy ‘saddened’ by Mcsally’s Allegations

By Linda Borg
Providence Journal
April 24, 2018

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180424/st-mary-academy-saddened-by-mcsallys-allegations

But a statement from the Catholic girls school in East Providence stopped short of saying that it would investigate the allegations by U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, a 1984 graduate who is running for the Senate in Arizona, that she was pressured into having sex with her track and field coach during her senior year.

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Martha McSally, the Arizona congresswoman who has accused a high school coach of sexual abuse, has never shied away from controversy.

McSally told the Wall Street Journal that her track coach at St. Mary Academy, Bay View, allegedly abused her when she was 17, which she didn’t reveal to family or friends until a decade later.

On Tuesday, Bay View, a Catholic girls’ school in Riverside, issued a statement that said, ”... We have a special obligation to address matters of sexual violence. Yesterday, we learned of allegations made by U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, ’84, who reported to the Wall Street Journal she had been sexually abused by her track and field coach during her senior year at St. Mary’s Academy-Bay View.

“We are saddened by these allegations, and we’re committed to confronting issues of misconduct and abuse, irrespective of when the incident occurred. Nothing is more important than the safety of our students,” the statement said.

McSally, who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Jeff Flake, has gone public about her alleged experiences of sexual harassment in the Air Force, where she spent 26 years.

McSally told the Wall Street Journal her running coach pressured her into having sex with him, using “emotional manipulation” to keep her compliant.

Her coach, identified by the Wall Street Journal as Jack Dwyer, denied her allegations, telling the newspaper that she came to his home a few times, uninvited. The Providence Journal couldn’t reach him for comment.

Dwyer also worked as a teacher and track coach at East Providence High School, leaving in 2001. Supt. Kathryn Crowley would only say that the matter has been referred to the School Department’s lawyer.

McSally, a Warwick native, was the first female pilot to fly in combat. She also successfully sued then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in 2001 over a military rule that required female personnel in Saudi Arabia to wear a head-to-toe Muslim covering when off base — a policy which she found offensive.

At Bay View, McSally was the valedictorian for the Class of 1984. During her stint at the U.S. Air Force Academy, she competed in both the women’s varsity swimming and outdoor track teams and competed in a triathlon in South Carolina.

In January, McSally, a two-term congresswoman who already had the backing of many Republican leaders, called on the national GOP to “grow a pair of ovaries” as she launched her bid for Senate.

Contact: —lborg@providencejournal.com