Former Cargo Ship Captain Pleads Guilty to Drugging and Raping a US Merchant Marine Academy Cadet That Was Working on the Ship

A former cargo ship captain pleaded guilty on Wednesday to drugging and raping a 21-year-old U.S. Merchant Marine Academy cadet who was working on the vessel as part of the academy’s Sea Year training program.

John Merrone, 53, pleaded guilty just as his trial was about to start in Brooklyn federal court. He admitted that he had sexual intercourse with the cadet without her consent “on the ship, in the middle of the ocean” after knocking her out with an intoxicant in 2019.

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