Former U.S. ship captain John Merrone has pleaded guilty in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, to multiple charges stemming from the sexual assault of a 21-year-old U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) cadet aboard a U.S.-flagged cargo vessel in 2019.
The guilty plea was accepted on five federal counts, concluding a case that has drawn significant attention within the maritime industry. Merrone now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
At the time of the incident, Merrone was serving as captain of the 50,000-deadweight-ton bulk carrier Liberty Glory, which had two USMMA cadets on board as part of their mandatory sea-year training.
According to U.S. prosecutors, the incident occurred in September 2019 while the vessel was sailing from Bahrain to Corpus Christi, Texas.
Merrone tricked the two cadets into his cabin by telling them he was going to give them soft drinks, but instead he gave them alcohol that had been laced with an intoxicant without their knowledge, court documents say.
In court, Merrone admitted he knowingly gave an intoxicant to one of the cadets without her consent, rendering her incapacitated before sexually assaulting her.
The victim, identified in court only as Jane Doe, and the second cadet reportedly had no memory of the events that followed. “One thing led to another,” Merrone told prosecutors, according to court records. Prosecutors said Jane Doe woke up the next morning wearing only a shirt and asked Merrone what happened.
When she returned to the United States, the victim told her mother and a friend about the assault and later went to the doctor for treatment. She officially reported the incident to law enforcement in 2021, leading to the federal investigation.
The guilty plea was announced by Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James Barnacle Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office.
In a statement, Barnacle said Merrone had abused his position of authority by drugging and sexually assaulting a cadet who was training aboard his vessel, adding that the FBI remains committed to holding individuals accountable when they exploit positions of trust.
Following the hearing, Ryan Melogy, attorney for the victim and a partner at Justice4Mariners, said his client became emotional after hearing Merrone admit his guilt, describing the moment as the conclusion of a long legal process.
Melogy also noted that the U.S. Department of Justice had not prosecuted a sexual assault case involving a U.S. cargo ship in more than 40 years. He added that crimes committed at sea are particularly difficult to investigate and prosecute because of the isolated environment and the challenges involved in gathering evidence far from shore.
Merrone is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date. Under U.S. law, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
