Nearly 21 months have passed since Marianne Bustin was terminated from her job of helping to prevent sexual assault at the Pennsylvania Air National Guard base in Horsham.
The judge said that it was wrong for the same brigadier general to have upheld the revocation of Bustin’s credentials, then to have made the final decision on her termination — which was based on her loss of credentials. Bustin, 58, who grew up in Kensington and now lives in Jenkintown, said she is hopeful that she will be able to get her credentials restored and resume working as a sexual assault response coordinator — ideally some place where she is “valued.”Before arriving in Horsham in 2016, Bustin had been commended for her work handling sexual assault cases for the U.S. Coast Guard in Cape May. She also had served in the Navy for more than 20 years.
Brad Rhen, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania National Guard, said Friday that the investigation is in the “final editing process.” He declined to comment on Bustin’s case specifically, citing the upcoming hearing. “They were very dismissive,” she said. “Their attitude about the sexual assault program was, ‘We don’t need it because it doesn’t happen here.’”