PORTLAND (AP) — A Maine woman who became a national figure in the fight to help survivors of military sexual assault has learned that she will receive $405,000 in retroactive disability benefits.
Ruth Moore says she was told Thursday by a VA representative that the department had made a “clear and unmistakable error” in denying her benefits for physical and emotional trauma suffered after being raped while in the Navy more than 20 years ago.
The 45-year-old Moore, of Milbridge, tells the Portland Press Herald the news brought relief and a “sense of peace.”
Moore was raped twice by a superior officer while stationed in the Azores. She said she was discharged on a false mental illness diagnosis and never received proper treatment from the military for the sexual assault.
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