Crowley Engineer Accused of Sexually Harassing & Assaulting a Cadet as Well as Exposing Himself to a Cadet After Opening Cadet’s Cabin Door.
New York, NY
By: MLAA
In July 2022 U.S. Coast Guard Captain Jason Neubauer—longtime Chief of the USCG Safety Office—announced that the Coast Guard was investigating at least 20 concurrent sexual misconduct cases involving USCG-credentialed mariners as part of a long-awaited USCG crackdown on the scourge of shipboard sexual misconduct plaguing the U.S. maritime industry.
After completing several of those sexual misconduct investigations—some lasting years—the Coast Guard has now begun bringing Suspension & Revocation charges against mariners who were reported to the agency by brave survivors of shipboard sexual misconduct.
On October 7, 2022 CNN reported that in August of 2022 the Coast Guard brought Suspension & Revocation charges seeking the permanent REVOCATION of Captain John Merrone’s merchant mariner’s license after two cadets accused Merrone of drugging them, attempting to sexually assault one cadet, and then raping the second cadet aboard Captain Merrone’s vessel while sailing upon the high seas.
Following publication of CNN’s story, MLAA reported that Merrone was kicked out of the American Maritime Officers labor union by the union’s National Executive Board, which cited “multiple credible allegations…made against John Merrone ashore and while he was aboard vessels under AMO contract.”
Now the Coast Guard has accused licensed engineer Aaron Thomas Jandreau of shipboard sexual misconduct and has brought Suspension & Revocation charges against the mariner.
In a previously unreported complaint filed September 8, 2022, the agency stated it is seeking the permanent REVOCATION of Jandreau’s license and merchant mariner credential (MMC).
According to the complaint, while serving as 1st Engineer aboard a vessel operated by Crowley Maritime Corporation, Jandreau is accused of sexually harassing a cadet who was also serving aboard the Crowley vessel, as well as sexually assaulting a cadet on at least one occasion in violation of 18 USC 2244(b).
The complaint also accuses Jandreau of banging on a cadet’s stateroom door, opening the door without permission, and then exposing himself to the cadet.
According to the complaint, Jandreau was “aggressively knocking on the Cadet’s cabin door while undressed, unwelcomely exposing himself to the Cadet when the door was opened without permission.”
The complaint also accuses Jandreau of two counts of official Misconduct related to his use of alcohol aboard the vessel. The complaint alleges that after Jandreau failed to report for his assigned engineering watch at 0600, he was directed by the Master of the vessel to undergo a “reasonable cause” chemical test, which was administered at 12:50pm.
The complaint alleges Jandreau was found to have a 0.083 Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at that time.
The complaint also alleges that on the same day as the reasonable cause chemical test was administered, the Master of the vessel “found alcohol in [Jandreau’s] cabin” in violation of Crowley policies.
Jandreau has 20 days from receipt of the Coast Guard’s complaint to respond to the allegations or to request an extension of time to respond. MLAA has not yet obtained Jandreau’s response to the allegations leveled against him by the Coast Guard and it is not known if Jandreau has yet responded to the complaint.
None of the allegations contained in the complaint have yet been found proven by a U.S. Coast Guard Administrative Law Judge, and based on the pacing of recent Coast Guard Suspension & Revocation cases, Jandreau’s case could take years to be resolved.
Jandreau will maintain his credentials and ability to sail during the entirety of the time his case is pending, and there is no law or enforceable policy that will prevent him from serving aboard vessels with cadets while his case is pending.