DENVER -- The Air Force's internal report on allegations of sexual assaults at the Air Force Academy was released on Thursday, and it found no cover-up by academy leaders and no systematic acceptance of assault or institutional avoidance of responsibility. However, it did fault the culture of the academy as the reason why female cadets still fear retaliation for reporting attacks.

Video

Executive Summary Of Internal Report About AFA Changes Coming To Air Force Academy

The working group that completed the report was formed in February by Air Force Secretary James G. Roche after 7NEWS Investigates uncovered a system at the academy that punished women who had come forward to report sexual assault or rape. In some cases the victims told 7NEWS that they were even drummed out of the prestigious school. After 7NEWS aired the reports, the Air Force changed the whole process, vowing to no longer investigate victims and insuring that the victims and witnesses will be given amnesty from lesser, minor infractions.

However, in Thursday's report, the hand-picked Air Force Working Group for U.S. Air Force Academy Sexual Misconduct said there was no "systematic acceptance of sexual assault at the academy, institutional avoidance of responsibility, or systematic maltreatment of cadets who report sexual assault."

It said that all but one of 43 cases of assault investigated between Jan. 1, 1993, and Dec. 31, 2002, were handled within the reasonable discretion of commanders.

The report goes on to say that there is a problem with the "culture at the academy that produced a less than optimal environment to deter and respond to sexual assault or bring assailants to justice."

It documents problems ranging from confusion among top officers about who was overseeing assaults and cites a "blurred" definition of sexual assault.

Even though the leadership of the academy has been removed, no one is being held accountable in this report, 7NEWS Investigative Reporter John Ferrugia said. Even though by changing the whole system for dealing with sexual assault and rape the Air Force admitted to a serious problem, the report said there was no targeting of victims and blamed cadet use of alcohol for 40 percent of the sexual assault cases it reviewed.

However, it did call for more changes at the Academy, including changing the hierarchy system that gives upperclassmen power over freshman cadets.

The working group looked at 142 reported assaults at the academy. Eighty-one reports were anonymous and could not be investigated. Of the 61 remaining cases, about half involved enough evidence for prosecution, said Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., a graduate of the Air Force Academy who discussed aspects of the findings with the Associated Press.

But how many cadets were interviewed? What the report doesn't say is that most victims, including most current cadets, refused to talk to members of the working group for fear of retaliation, 7NEWS reported.

In short, victims of sexual assault at the academy simply didn't trust the Air Force to investigate itself, Ferrugia said.

However, many victims did speak with the Department of Defense's Inspector General, which is one of three remaining investigations into sexual assaults at the academy. That report should be completed by late summer.

The Air Force Inspector General is also conducting an inquiry and Congress has also created its own panel to investigate and determine if academy commanders should be held responsible.

Reaction To Report

Sen. Wayne Allard said the new report on the sex assault scandal at the Air Force Academy is incomplete. Allard said that although the report contains some good recommendations, it failed to lay out why and how the problems occurred in the first place.

For example, despite programs in place to address the issues of sexual assault, over the years the problems persisted and commanders apparently didn't take them seriously, 7NEWS reported. And Thursday's report didn't blame any commanders.

"I think there is an attempt to sort of exonerate themselves from some of the charges they have had to face. The fact is they have a problem there. We all recognize they have a problem including the people in charge at the Pentagon know we have a problem there," Allard told 7NEWS. "(The victims) have lost confidence in the system at the Air Force Academy. I think the challenge is they have to restore confidence in the academy for victims of sexual assault or rape."

"Our report's charter was not to assess blame or responsibility but was to evaluate policies, programs and practices in light of the cadet complaints to see if changes needed to be made," said Mary Walker, who headed the working group at the Pentagon. "But there is enough information in there for the secretary and the chief, as commanders, to review whether command had information that perhaps it should have taken action on, and that would be for them to review."

At the academy, officials weren't surprised by the outcome of the report, and they have spent the last several months implementing some of the suggestions outlined by the general counsel.

At a press conference following the report's release Brig. Gen. Johnny Weida, the academy's interim superintendent, said that he and the academy were looking forward and not backward. He did not want to dwell on the sexual assault allegations, but rather talked about what the school is doing to fix the problem.

Weida said it was a cultural issue that cannot be solved quickly by speeches or written guidance, rather it will take some time and some everyday work.

"Organizations that acknowledge their shortcomings, they fix them and then press on, no matter what area you're talking about. Mediocre organizations ignore the problems, make excuses for their problems and they never get better," Weida said.