One of St. Mary Academy-Bay View’s most famous alumnae has made a startling revelation, claiming she was sexually abused while a student at the school.Rep. Martha McSally, 52, told the Wall …
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One of St. Mary Academy-Bay View’s most famous alumnae has made a startling revelation, claiming she was sexually abused while a student at the school.
Rep. Martha McSally, 52, told the Wall Street Journal she felt pressured into having sex with her then high school track coach. The Journal named him as Jack Dwyer. He remains active as a coach of the Exeter-West Greenwich track and field program. Reached by the Journal, Mr. Dwyer called Ms. McSally “nuts” and “the most scheming woman I ever met.”
Ms. McSally, originally from Warwick, later graduated the United States Air Force Academy. She made history becoming the first female pilot to fly combat missions, doing so in 1991 during the Gulf War. Ms. McSally was also the first woman to command a fighter squadron.
Ms. McSally made the revelation during an interview with the Journal discussing her candidacy for the United States Senate from Arizona in the stead of the retiring Jeff Flake. Ms. McSally, a Republican, is currently a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's Second District
McSally said she wasn’t coerced into the sexual relationship, rather saying “it certainly was an emotional manipulation." She said she chose to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado in part "to get away from him.”
Ms. McSally said she only revealed her experiences to both family and friends some 10 years later, in the early 1990’s following her graduation from Bay View in the early 80’s. She also told the Journal she had "similar, awful experiences in the military on the spectrum of abuse of power and sexual assault."
St. Mary Academy-Bay View released the following statement on Ms. McSally’s allegations mid-morning Tuesday, April 24:
“As a Mercy school committed to the empowerment, safety, and well-being of our students, both past, and present, we have a special obligation to address matters of sexual violence. Yesterday, we learned of allegations made by U.S. Representative 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 Academy-Bay View. We are saddened by these allegations, and we are committed to confronting issues of misconduct and abuse, irrespective of when the incident occurred. Nothing is more important than the safety of our students.”