Pentagon watchdog: Former Navy auditor sexually harassed at least 12 female employees

A former Navy civilian auditor sexually harassed at least 12 female employees for more than two decades as part of a “pervasive and egregious pattern” of misconduct, the Pentagon’s watchdog revealed Wednesday.

A Defense Department inspector general report found that former Navy Auditor Gen. Ronnie Booth “engaged in a pervasive pattern of sexual harassment and quid pro quo sexual propositions when interacting with female subordinates at the Naval Audit Service,” according to the document.

Booth requested “sexual favors in exchange for career advancement, all under the guise of professional career ‘mentoring,’” it states.  

He also engaged in a “sporadic long-term sexual relationship” with one subordinate who he held career advancements over.

Booth’s “propositions and frequent inappropriate interactions” with the employees created an “intimidating, hostile, and offensive work environment,” causing a majority of the women to leave the Naval Audit Service or ask for a transfer, according to the report.

The report concluded that employees had an “unfavorable perception of how their agency handled previous complaints” about Booth’s behavior toward women and thought nothing would be done if they reported him.

Asked about the report later on Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is aware of the contents of the report and “takes the issue of sexual assault, sexual harassment, very, very seriously.”

Kirby declined to comment further, noting that the report had been referred to the acting secretary of the Navy.

The report’s release comes the same day the Defense Department held its first meeting for its 90-day independent review commission on sexual assault in the military. The civilian-led panel, ordered by President Biden, will review Department of Defense (DOD) policies and processes already in place to address the issue and then give recommendations.

Austin — who stated that tackling military sexual assault and harassment is one of his top priorities — stood up the commission in February.

Biden earlier this month pledged to “end the scourge of sexual assault” in the military.

Despite the recent push to quell the issue, the military for more than a decade has struggled with preventing sexual assault and harassment.

The Defense Department inspector general began its formal investigation into Booth in July 2019, after it first received information about him in January 2019.

Booth retired from his role in September 2019.

In interviews with investigators, he denied any sexual harassment allegations and said “he had an open door policy for mentoring” and there was “’ ‘no difference’ between how he mentored men and women,” according to the report.

When the inspector general told Booth its conclusions, he left a voice message continuing to deny any wrongdoing, stating: “The comments that I gave during my interview I stand by those. Again, I don’t know where these accusations are coming from as I stated in my comments.”

The watchdog did not substantiate allegations that former acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly knew of Booth’s pattern of sexual harassment before promoting him to auditor general.

Staff that advised Modly, however, did know of sexually harassment allegations against Booth but informed the acting service head “that there was no current adverse information, and that nothing stood in the way of appointing” Booth, according to the report.

“We determined that Mr. Modly complied with DoD and Navy standards when he was informed of the sexual harassment allegations against Mr. Booth by having his staff and advisors, including legal advisors, vet Mr. Booth and other candidates before making a selection,” the report states.