Air force academy officials have responded to a 7NEWS investigation which revealed that some female cadets who report being raped are themselves punished.

Brig. General Taco Gilbert, commander of the cadets, released a statement which said in part, "Allegations that sexual misconduct goes unpunished at the Air Force academy are unfounded and untrue ... Each case is evaluated on its own merits with a view toward respecting the best interests of the Air Force, the victim and the accused."

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7NEWS Investigates: Women Cadets At AFA Not Reporting RapesPart 2 7NEWS Investigates Alleged Rape Victims Punished For ReportingPart 2Part 3Part 4

The general doesn't even mention the women cadet victims who say they've been punished after reporting a crime, 7NEWS Investigator John Ferrugia pointed out.

The general focused on the men who are accused and that surprised Sen. Wayne Allard, a member of the Armed Services Committee and a member of the Air Force Academy visitor's board.

The senator felt the general tried to diminish the problem.

"I believe there is a serious problem at the Air Force Academy that has not been addressed. I am confident the investigation being conducted by the secretary of the Air Force will give us the information necessary to take appropriate action," Allard said in a statement to 7NEWS.

That investigation is focused on women like Ruth. She said she was sexually assaulted as a cadet, decided not to report it and the trauma nearly destroyed her.

"I wanted to be an astronaut. I have always had a fascination with space and enjoyed science, engineering," Ruth said.

Ruth is a former Air Force Academy cadet who is now attending a small college in upstate New York. In high school, she worked hard to make it to Colorado Springs to achieve her dream.

"I remember every night worrying about it and praying that my grades are OK," she said.

Ruth's hard work paid off. But soon after arriving at the academy, she got an ominous warning from one of their upper class trainers about sexual assault at the academy.

"This woman said actually, 'It happened to me when I was a freshman. It happened to me when I was a sophomore. One situation was date rape and the other situation was just straight-up rape.' And I am thinking, 'This woman has got to be nuts because there is no way that could happen here. It's the military," Ruth said.

But as she came to know other female cadets, she began to hear the same story over and over again and get the same advice.

"If it happens, don't report it. Either you are going to get kicked out or you are going to be ostracized from the entire wing and your life will be more miserable than it already is because you will have no support," Ruth said.

Ruth took the warnings seriously and was careful not to fraternize with upperclassmen. But after basic training, she accompanied another freshman cadet on a friendly date.

"I was invited to this person's room after a night of, you know, a dinner and a movie, as a friend. This person had a significant other so I was certainly not worried," Ruth said.

But when he offered her a drink of what she thought was rum and Coke, she was cautious.

"I'm not a drinker. I'm an athlete so a small amount of alcohol did a lot," Ruth said.

Ruth was reeling.

"I figured I was either really drunk or there was some type of drug I'd been given," she said.

She was feeling sick and had asked to leave.

"This person said, 'You know you are, I think you look, really drunk. You could get an alcohol hit if you walk out in to the hallway, maybe you should stay here,'" Ruth said.

An alcohol "hit," or reprimand, can be cause for expulsion. So Ruth, still woozy and scared, first refused, then decided to stay.

"What I remember is being told I could sleep on his roommate's bed and then the next memory that I have is of him being in bed with me," Ruth said.

Through the haze of her intoxication, Ruth realized she was being raped.

John Ferrugia: Do you remember making clear to this person at any point -- Look I don't want to do this?
Ruth: Oh yes, I remember saying "no" very clearly at least 20 times.

Even so, Ruth was afraid to make an official criminal complaint.

"And I was very scared of getting an alcohol hit or a sex in the dorms (hit) or whatever else they could come up with," Ruth said. "So it seemed to me a lot easier to deal with my own emotional instability on the situation than telling the administration and having the possibility of getting all these Class D hits and possibly getting kicked out of the school I had work so hard to get into."

Ferrugia: But this was a crime ...
Ruth: It doesn't matter.

"They get into trouble. They get kicked out. They are given some bogus personality disorder," Ann said.

Ann is an Air Force Academy cadet who is also a rape survivor. She was trained to work with cadet victims of sexual assault through the academy's rape crisis and counseling program.

Ferrugia: Based on the people you know and their experiences, would you tell a woman to report?
Ann: No, I wouldn't. And it breaks my heart. I would look the victim straight in her face and say, 'Do not say anything. I will help you get counseling outside the academy.'

That's exactly what Ruth tried to do -- not report and keep it in. She fell into a deep depression and stopped eating.

"I could not function, could not do my school work," Ruth said.

Ferrugia: If you see a psychologist at the academy, what happens?
Ruth: You will be found emotionally unstable and be kicked out. So I thought I could just handle it. Make myself better.

"They are so afraid that if it was a male cadet there will be retribution," said Maj. Kelly Phillips-Henry, chief of sex assault services at the academy.

She confirms, in the present academy culture, most women are reluctant to report.

"If they are a freshman, fourth degree, if they give a name or tell them it was a cadet or especially from their squadron, (they fear) that it will come back to harm them," Phillips-Henry said.

Ferrugia: So in the end you didn't report because you wanted to stay in?
Ruth: Yes.
Ferrugia: But in the end?
Ruth: I left. ... I think I would have gone through a similar situation if I had reported it. It would have just been in a different way. Instead of myself beating myself up, it would have been higher ups beating me up.

Even though Ruth never officially reported her rape, the academy medical staff and her classmates knew about it. And in a strange twist, other cadets even applauded her for not betraying one of their own.

In many cases of sexual assault at the academy, alcohol is involved. That is why the administration instituted an amnesty program.

On Friday night, more cadets come forward and 7NEWS Investigates will feature one woman who was failed by the very amnesty program set up to help her.

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