Timeline: The Case Against Captain John Merrone

Timeline: The Case Against Captain John Merrone

2011

• Merrone is arrested in the Florida Keys and charged with false imprisonment, sexual battery, and aggravated battery after a woman alleges he raped her in his apartment.

• He is convicted of false imprisonment and battery and sentenced to two years in prison.

• He serves two years in a Florida prison.

• The conviction is later overturned on appeal on an evidentiary issue. It is believed that because Merrone had already completed his sentence, the district attorney did not recharge Merrone.

2012–2022

• Despite his criminal history, after being released from prison, Merrone continues to sail under contract with U.S. shipping companies through his membership in the American Maritime Officers (AMO) labor union.

• The U.S. Coast Guard allows Merrone to continue sailing under the authority of his Coast Guard issued Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC).

• Following his release from prison, multiple complaints of shipboard sexual misconduct are reportedly raised against Merrone to his labor union and to shipping companies, but he remains in command of U.S.-flagged commercial vessels for the next decade.

September 28, 2021

• Ryan Melogy publishes the now-infamous Midshipman-X blog post, which ignites a media firestorm around the issue of maritime sexual assault. Following publication of the blog post, Merrone victim Jane Doe comes forward to report Merrone to the Coast Guard Investigative Service, initiating a Coast Guard investigation.

July, 2022

• U.S. Attorney Breon Peace Declines to Prosecute Capt. John Merrone; DOJ quickly closes criminal case:

  After completing its criminal investigation, the CGIS refers the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY). U.S. Attorney Breon Peace then quickly closes the case without bringing criminal charges. Because the EDNY also serves as outside counsel to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, defending the Academy against all federal lawsuits brought against the school, allegations of conflict of interest and allegations that the DOJ’s EDNY office had for decades helped the USMMA cover up sexual abuse at sea and on campus begin to emerge.

August 3, 2022

• Because the DOJ closed the criminal case and declined prosecution, the U.S. Coast Guard charges Captain John Merrone via the Suspension & Revocation (S&R) process, seeking revocation of Merrone’s Captain’s license and MMC. The S&R process is an administrative law process, not a criminal process, and only pertains to the suitability of the mariner to hold a Coast Guard issued credential.

• The Coast Guard’s complaint against Merrone alleges that in September of 2019, Merrone, while serving as Captain of the Liberty Glory, drugged two U.S. Merchant Marine Academy cadets and then raped one of them aboard his ship at sea.

October 7, 2022

• CNN publishes a groundbreaking investigation:

  “Ship captain allegedly drugged two students at sea, raped one of them.”
  The report, based on the Coast Guard’s complaint against Merrone, reveals that while commanding the Liberty Glory, Merrone allegedly drugged two U.S. Merchant Marine Academy cadets during their Sea Year training voyage and raped one of them while she was unconscious.

• CNN further reports that Merrone had a prior conviction for false imprisonment and battery, and that AMO had continued placing him aboard vessels for years, despite this record and other known allegations.

October 12, 2022

• Following public backlash, on October 12, 2022, the American Maritime Officers labor union finally expels Merrone from the union.
  In its resolution, the union acknowledges that:

  “Multiple credible allegations have been made against John Merrone ashore and while he was aboard vessels under AMO contract. Permitting John Merrone to sail and benefit from union membership poses an immediate threat to the safety of our members and that of their crew.”
  — AMO National Executive Board Resolution, Oct. 12, 2022

• The expulsion highlights the union’s prior inaction, despite Merrone’s known history.

October 21, 2022

• Facing administrative action by the Coast Guard, and intense media scrutiny, Merrone volutarily surrenders his Merchant Mariner Credential and

• He accepts a lifetime ban from working in the U.S. maritime industry.

• The Coast Guard avoids a public license revocation hearing.

March 2023

• A follow-up CNN report reveals that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) had declined to prosecute Merrone in 2022, despite the allegations.

• Survivors and advocates express outrage, accusing DOJ of sending a message that rape at sea would go unpunished.

June 5, 2025

• The U.S. Department of Justice files criminal charges against Merrone in EDNY, including counts related to drugging and raping a cadet while she was underway on a U.S.-flagged cargo ship.

• This marks the first DOJ prosecution for a sexual assault committed aboard an American commercial vessel in over a generation.

• The last previously known prosecution of a sexual assault aboard an American cargo ship occurred in 1982. That case involved Chief Mate Philip Heidner, a member of the Masters, Mates & Pilots labor union, who raped and murdered a passenger aboard American President Lines ship President Jackson.