US Coast Guard accused of failing to prevent and punish sexual assault misconduct for decades

The US Coast Guard has been accused of failing to prevent and punish mariners accused of sexual assault for years - as women have broken silence in harrowing detail with claims of rape at sea.

Among those speaking out in CNN's damning 'Maritime Me Too' report is Hope Hicks. She was a 19-year-old student in the US Merchant Marine Academy when she was allegedly raped by First Engineer Edgar Sison on board the Alliance Fairfax.

Before she boarded her 100-day stint at sea in Jacksonville, Florida, she was warned by older academy graduates that crew members were known for questionable behavior - including stealing women's bras and underwear from the laundry room.  

Hicks claims her ordeal went far beyond just taunting on the ship. 

Sison, her boss, allegedly raped her one night after a stop in Aqaba, Jordan. He and other engineering officers gathered in Sison's stateroom to get drunk. Hicks' bedroom was next to his - and they demanded she joined them.

She said she remembers Sison climbing on top of her as she lay naked, and waking up the next morning with blood on her sheets and bruises on her body after the alleged sexual assault. 

Hope Hicks (pictured) was just 19-years-old when she was allegedly raped while on board the Alliance Fairfax. She remembered waking up with blood in her bed, covered in bruises, after allegedly being attacked by her boss. Two years later, she started writing an anonymous account of her experiences

The next morning, he reportedly called her to his bedroom - and she went clutching a knife in her pocket for protection. He denied raping her, then allegedly touched her thigh and told her: 'We mariners get lonely out here at sea, ok?' 

Before she left the room, she recalled him saying to her: 'No one is ever going to believe you.'  

With the ship not set to dock for two weeks, she told CNN: 'Back in my room I decided that the only thing I could do was to tough it out. No one was going to believe me. I was trapped.' 

First Engineer Edgar Sison (pictured) is accused of raping Hope Hicks. He refused to comply with an internal investigation after the allegations came to light, and he was fired. But he soon got a new job, and still holds his Coast Guard credentials. The DOJ is now reviewing if there is a criminal case to be made against him

Once returning to land, she spoke to nine other women on campus who claimed they were also dealing with the fallout from their own alleged rapes on board the ships. 

Two years after the ordeal, Hicks took to an anonymous blog with the help of an attorney to expose what happened on board the Sea Year program. 

Following its publicity in 2021, the vessel's operator, Maersk's US subsidiary, contacted Hicks' alleged attacker to be involved in an internal investigation.

Sison refused to participate, and the operator fired him, according to CNN. 

Hicks then launched a lawsuit against Maersk, which settled for an undisclosed amount in late 2021. The Department of Justice is now believed to be reviewing the Coast Guard's findings to see if there is a criminal case to be made against Sison. 

Despite being fired by Maersk, Sison was hired by another shopping company soon afterwards. He still has his Coast Guard credential, which was renewed last year. They have not taken any disciplinary action against him. 

Sison did not respond to CNN's requests for comment, and his attorney declined to comment.  

The Coast Guard has opened 25 criminal investigations into shipboard sex assault claims in the last decade - some of which are still ongoing. 

The agency, which is a branch of the US military overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, is tasked with overseeing commercial ships and making sure the 200,000 mariners don't pose a safety risk. 

According to CNN, The Coast Guard has opened 25 criminal investigations into shipboard sex assault claims in the last decade - some of which are still ongoing

Despite the Coast Guard's judicial process demanding less proof than normal criminal court, no mariners have been seriously reprimanded or had their credentials revoked for on-board sexual misconduct in the last 10 years. 

At-sea sex crimes can be difficult to prosecute for a number of reasons.

Captain John Merrone (pictured) was charged with drugging two students on his ship and raping one of them - but because the Coast Guard investigation took over a year to get to that decision, he kept his ability to work on commercial ships the whole time

Victims may be less likely to come forward as they often still have to work in close proximity with their attackers, and the closest doctors and investigators can be thousands of miles away when they are docked in the middle of the ocean. 

Because of the time it can take, alleged rapists can still hold their credentials and are able to move from ship to ship before any concrete movements in cases are made. 

Shockingly, the CNN report found that more than 25 mariners - who had previously been convicted of sex crimes, including rape and child molestation - still worked on ships after either being deemed 'suitable' by their employers, or having their previous crimes go unnoticed altogether. 

In one case, a captain was tipped off that his crew member had been convicted of child molestation. He told the Coast Guard, who said they were already aware and had allowed him to continue working there. 

Another instance saw a registered sex offender work aboard commercial ships for years. But he eventually surrendered his credential when he was charged with murdering his own father.   

Michael James Verdin, a mariner, was accused of rape but took a plea deal for sexual battery in a bid to avoid a longer prison sentence and get back to work quicker.

He negotiated during his one-year jail sentence and agreed to a seven-month suspension from work in 2012, according to CNN. 

Michael James Verdin, a mariner, was accused of rape but took a plea deal for sexual battery in a bid to avoid a longer prison sentence and get back to work quicker. He negotiated the one-year jail sentence and agreed to a seven-month suspension from work in 2012

Verdin told CNN he continued working in the industry for five more years after pleading guilty to the sex crime.  

In another case, mariner James Ryerse allegedly sexually assault a child but pleaded guilty to attempted felony criminal sexual conduct involving a victim between the ages of 13 and 15 in 2009. 

He still holds his Coast Guard credential today because an agency judge ruled against revoking it - and he returned to work after a six-month suspension, the report states. 

Ryerse said that his behavior with the girl, which he denies, is unrelated to his work - and told CNN it would be unfair to bar all sex offenders from the industry.

Captain John Merrone was charged with drugging two students on his ship and raping one of them - but because the Coast Guard investigation took over a year to get to that decision, he kept his ability to work on commercial ships the meantime, CNN reports.  

The American Maritime Officers union kicked Merrone out following CNN's coverage of the allegations against him. It was just two weeks later that Merrone voluntarily surrendered his credentials.

But this was not the first time Merrone faced sex crime allegations. He previously kept his Coast Guard credential throughout his year-long prison sentence for battery and false imprisonment of a woman, CNN reports. 

Admiral Wayne Arguin, the Coast Guard's assistant commandant for prevention policy admitted that 'there may be instances where something falls through the cracks' in terms of vetting. 

Director of the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Jeremy Gauthier, said the agency has now created a 24/7 phone line and email address for sex crime victims at sea.

He told CNN: 'Our whole goal is to increase reporting. Report. Report. Report.'

The US Coast Guard said in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'Sexual misconduct has no place in the maritime industry and the Coast Guard is committed to preventing these occurrences and responding to allegations to eliminate this toxic behavior from the workplace.

'The persistence of sexual assault and other sexual misconduct in the industry calls for commitment from all stakeholders to address the myriad of factors that contribute to the problem, including an underlying culture permissive to bullying, harassment, and violent behavior. 

'The Coast Guard has increased outreach with other government agencies and industry stakeholders, including shipowners, seafarers, unions, mariner outreach organizations, mariner advocacy organizations, and individual mariners, to ensure mariners and aspiring mariners have the right to work in an environment free from the fear of being sexually assaulted or sexually harassed. 

'Efforts to achieve this vision include removing barriers to reporting, engaging the maritime industry at all levels, evaluating policy and regulatory changes, requesting input from Federal Advisory Committees, and addressing the issue globally during International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings.'