DATE: Tuesday, September 9, 1997            TAG: 9709090238

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

DATELINE: COLUMBIA, S.C.                    LENGTH:   70 lines

EX-CADET SUES CITADEL, CLAIMS SEXUAL ABUSE

Former Citadel cadet Jeanie Mentavlos sued the state military school for federal civil rights violations Monday, alleging male cadets made her the object of pornography and sexually harassed her in other ways.

``I'm seeking justice. The major goal here is to make sure that it doesn't happen to anybody else.'' Mentavlos said.

``I can honestly say there is nothing I miss about that school,'' said the Charlotte, N.C., woman who now attends Queens College there.

She also sued The Citadel's governing board, the officer who oversaw the barracks where she was assigned, and five male cadets who were in Echo Company with her. The school had no comment, and the others either would not comment or could not be reached.

Mentavlos' lawyer, Dick Harpootlian, would not say what she seeks in damages. ``We think she lost a year of her life. What's that worth?'' he said.

Mentavlos and Kim Messer of Clover quit the Charleston school in January, saying they were hazed and harassed, which included having their clothes set afire. Two other women who enrolled at the same time did not report any problems and remain there as sophomores.

``A 50 percent failure rate, I think, would indicate that there was a significant hostile environment,'' Harpootlian said.

An additional 20 women enrolled at The Citadel this year. Two have dropped out, along with 42 male cadets. None have reported hazing.

The school first voluntarily accepted women last year after Virginia Military Institute's all-male policy was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Citadel's first woman cadet, Shannon Faulkner, entered the school in 1995 under court order but left after a week, citing stress and isolation.

The lawsuit claims Mentavlos suffered ``insults, indignities, physical assault and humiliating treatment which went far beyond any need to toughen, strengthen or acclimate plaintiff to the rigors of military discipline.''

Male cadets digitally altered a picture of Mentavlos to show her with a penis and exposed breasts, then published it on the Internet, the lawsuit said. Another unidentified cadet tried to get her to look at lesbian pictures, it said.

One of the cadets named as a defendant, James Saleeby, once entered her room wearing only underwear, and another unidentified cadet ``pushed his male anatomy on plaintiff's backside,'' the lawsuit said. Saleeby refused to comment.

She also claims that cadets told her the first freshman to have sex with her would become an honorary upperclassman.

The school disciplined 14 male cadets as a result of the women's accusations. State investigators and the FBI also were called in, but a local prosecutor said there were no grounds to bring charges.

Harpootlian said the U.S. Justice Department also has decided not to pursue civil rights violations.

Mentavlos also alleges that another cadet, Edward Bohm, twice set the clothing she was wearing afire. The lawsuit said that in October he set a sweatshirt tag afire, then relit it after she put out the flames with her hands. ``Saleeby smashed his tennis shoe across the plaintiff's stomach and side'' to put out the flames, the lawsuit said.

In December, Bohm set fire to her T-shirt, revealing her bra, Mentavlos claims. When she put on a sweatshirt, he set it afire twice with nail polish remover and the flames reached her ears before she put them out, the lawsuit said.

The Army officer who oversaw the barracks, Capt. Richard Ellis, still works at The Citadel and refused to comment. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Jeanie Mentavlos says a cadet entered her room wearing only

underwear. KEYWORDS: WOMEN IN THE MILITARY MILITARY ACADEMIES

CITADEL LAWSUITS SEXUAL HARASSMENT

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