A former West Point cadet says that she was forced to drop out of the academy because it refused to acknowledge her rape claim.
Madeline Lewis said she hoped to continue her family’s tradition by entering the military – until her dreams were shattered when she was raped by quarterback Ahmad Ali Bradshaw.
But despite the severity of her claim, West Point wanted to have nothing to do with her, she alleged – and other students victimized her for it, calling her a whore and saying she should be shot.
‘If you can think of someone holding a vial of poison, and handing it off to another person because no one wanted to touch it – that’s how I was treated,’ she told The Daily Beast.
Madeline Lewis (pictured) wanted to graduate West Pont like her grandfather; instead, she says, she was raped by one of the school’s quarterbacks in 2014 – and then punished for it
She said Ahmad Bradshaw (pictured) raped her; he denied it. The school said it was consensual and punished both of them for breaking barracks rules. Students resented her for the claim
Lewis became obsessed with joining West Point after her grandfather – an alumnus of the military college – passed away.
She lost 100 pounds, joined sports teams and took on leadership positions at her school to make sure she could follow in his footsteps.
But in 2014, while on crutches after a sporting injury, she encountered Bradshaw, who was best friends with her roommate.
One night, she said, she returned from a shower and found him in her room – at which point he raped her.
A internal document obtained by the Daily Beast said that Bradshaw denied having any contact with her, invoked his right to remain silent and refused to enter an official statement.
Lewis said her roommate ‘told on her’ for having sex in the barracks, at which point Lewis filed an official complaint and underwent an ‘invasive’ rape test at the Army medical hospital.
But the university concluded that the pair had taken part in a consensual sexual encounter. It’s unclear from documents how that conclusion was reached, the Beast said, and the school refused to comment, citing confidentiality rules.
A second investigation, by the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the Staff Judge Advocate, said there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to charge him.
Bradshaw declined to comment to the Daily Beast, and the school refused to organize an interview as he was ‘really busy’.
Bradshaw was found guilty of ‘sexual activity, which includes, but is not limited to: kissing, hand holding, and fondling,’ and was made to undergo ‘moral-ethical’ classes in the Respect Mentorship Program.
Lewis was also punished with what amounted to detention, she said.
Documents suggest Bradshaw is an under-performer in everything but football, but the school denies that it’s played favorites. Students called Lewis a ‘whore’ and said she should be shot
When she returned to the school, she found that the other students had taken against her for supposedly making them lose a football season by getting Bradshaw suspended from the game, she said.
On an anonymous chat group, students called her ‘the whore of the corps’ and said she should be ‘taken out back’ and shot, ‘like Old Yeller’.
She complained to the school, but they just took the conversation to a private Facebook forum, she said.
Meanwhile, documents obtained by the Beast show Bradshaw was subject of 15 negative cadet observation reports out of a total 20, with one neutral and four positive.
He also violated West Point’s famous honor code by cheating in 2016, and reports suggest that he under-performed in everything but the football field.
‘Cadet Bradshaw is currently a below-average cadet physically and militarily,’ his tactical officer wrote after Bradshaw failed a major course requirement in January 2017.
‘However, he is able to meet all requirements. He has an average reputation with the company and contributed this semester.
‘He has great leadership potential, as demonstrated in football, but has not translated into his performance in the three cadet pillars [of academics, military and physical fitness]. I feel that he can overcome this deficiency, improve and succeed at the Academy.’
Bradshaw had 15 negative reports out of a total of 20 and violated West Point’s famed honor code. He remains at the school. Lewis left, and says she’s let down by the institution
Lewis believes that Bradshaw was given preferential treatment because of his skill at football.
In a statement, the school said: ‘The US Military Academy takes all allegations of criminal conduct seriously and thoroughly investigates alleged criminal activity.
‘We also respect the privacy and rights of those accused and victims of crimes. The investigation concluded that there was no probable cause to believe that the alleged offenses occurred and has been closed.’
It also denied that Bradshaw was given special treatment.
‘The timing of the Honor Board and the action taken by the Superintendent followed the typical timeline for other cases that year and no special consideration was given to Cadet Bradshaw,’ West Point said.
It has also stopped him from participating in intercollegiate athletics – which will not affect him, as football games are not held during the intercollegiate period.
All of this has left Lewis saddened about the state of an institution she once idolized.
‘I still feel like West Point has the right idea: to take the best of the best and test them,’ she said.
‘I’m frustrated that they’re coddling the people who will win them games and don’t care about people like me.’
She added: ‘I miss the potential that I had there. I wanted to say that I did it, that I graduated from West Point. And I don’t have that anymore.’
Lewis’s complaint is just one of 78 reports of sexual assault at West point in the last four years.
Lewis’s complaint is just one of 78 reports of sexual assault at West point in the last four years