Melanie Hicken - Senior Writer, CNN Investigates
Melanie Hicken
Senior Writer, CNN Investigates
Melanie Hicken is an award-winning investigative reporter for CNN. Her work has exposed everything from widespread sexual abuse in nursing homes to one of the longest-running scams in history. It has also inspired legislative action and government investigation. Email her at watchdog@cnn.com.
Latest
Coast Guard Academy banned a retired captain from its grounds after CNN reported he sexted a student. Now more allegations are surfacing.
Sep 22, 2023
The US Coast Guard Academy on Friday announced it had banned a retired captain from its grounds following a CNN report this week that revealed the captain, who is now president of a small college, exchanged hundreds of sexually suggestive messages with a student more than a decade ago.
He was investigated for sexting a student at the Coast Guard Academy. He’s now a college president.
Sep 21, 2023
A college president, who wants his campus to become the business school “of choice for women,” once exchanged hundreds of sexually suggestive messages with a student he taught at the prestigious Coast Guard Academy, prompting prosecutors to recommend charges against him in military court, according to confidential records obtained by CNN.
Senate launches inquiry into Coast Guard sexual assault coverups exposed by CNN report
Sep 14, 2023
The US Senate has launched a formal inquiry into the Coast Guard’s handling of a secret, yearslong investigation that found rapes, sexual assaults and other serious misconduct at the agency’s academy had been ignored and, at times, covered up by high-ranking officials.
A mariner accused of raping college student loses ability to work at sea, but escapes criminal charges
Aug 25, 2023
In a high-profile case that rocked the commercial shipping industry, a sailor accused of raping a student from the US Merchant Marine Academy has agreed to surrender his credential to work on ships, but he will not be criminally prosecuted.
Former Coast Guard head covered up secret investigation into sexual assaults at the Coast Guard Academy
Aug 08, 2023
The then-leader of the US Coast Guard covered up an explosive investigation four years ago into rapes and sexual assaults at the agency’s academy despite prior plans by top officials to come clean about the inquiry, a CNN investigation found.
Senator demands IG inspection into Coast Guard’s failure to respond to sex assault claims at academy
Jul 13, 2023
The chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee called for an inspector general investigation into the US Coast Guard in the wake of revelations of systemic mishandling of sexual assault allegations at the US Coast Guard Academy.
CNN uncovered a damning, secret investigation into sexual assault at the US Coast Guard Academy. This woman’s case triggered that probe
Jul 12, 2023
CNN examined the case at the center of the US Coast Guard’s most sweeping investigation into sexual assaults at its academy. Her case not only shows how the Coast Guard routinely dismissed serious sexual misconduct in the past, but also how its failures continue to reverberate.
Criminal investigation into Coast Guard Academy revealed years of sexual assault cover-ups, but findings were kept secret
Jun 30, 2023
A secret investigation into alleged sexual abuse at the US Coast Guard Academy, the training ground for the Coast Guard’s top officers, uncovered a dark history of rapes, assaults and other serious misconduct being ignored and, at times, covered up by high-ranking officials.
Democratic congressman’s staff attacked by man with baseball bat
May 16, 2023
Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly said two staffers were injured Monday by a man wielding a bat who came into his district office in Fairfax.
Man arrested in connection with intel leak: ‘Actions speak louder than words’
Apr 14, 2023
Three years ago, before he was granted top secret clearance by the US government and entrusted with highly sensitive eyes-only information intended for officials in the Pentagon, graduating high school senior Jack Teixeira chose the following motto for his yearbook: "Actions speak louder than words."
The Coast Guard renewed a mariner’s ability to work at sea after he was accused of rape. Now, the agency is trying to keep him off ships
Mar 22, 2023
More than a year after a student told the US Coast Guard she was plied with alcohol and raped by her boss while training at sea, the agency is going after her alleged assailant's ability to work on commercial ships.
Failed oversight, lax punishments: How the Coast Guard has allowed sexual assault at sea to go unchecked
Mar 17, 2023
The US Coast Guard has failed to use its power to prevent and punish sexual assault and misconduct for decades — despite growing evidence that this kind of behavior is a longstanding problem at sea.
Sexual assault victims at the US Merchant Marine Academy reluctant to trigger investigations amid culture of fear
Mar 08, 2023
US Merchant Marine Academy students who say they were victims of sexual assault remain reluctant to report their alleged assailants in ways that would prompt investigations, a new report from the academy shows.
Shipping giant Maersk settles lawsuit filed by student allegedly raped at sea
Nov 18, 2022
Shipping giant Maersk has settled a lawsuit filed by a former US Merchant Marine Academy student who says she was raped while working on the company's ship when she was 19 years old.
Ship captain allegedly drugged two students at sea, raped one of them
Oct 07, 2022
On a cargo ship sailing across the ocean, a captain allegedly drugged the drinks of two students training on board. Once they were incapacitated, he raped one cadet and attempted to sexually assault the other, according to a previously unreported complaint from the US Coast Guard.
About
Melanie Hicken is an award-winning investigative reporter for CNN. Her work has exposed everything from widespread sexual abuse in nursing homes to one of the longest-running scams in history. It has also inspired legislative action and government investigation.
Hicken and her longtime reporting partner, Blake Ellis’s groundbreaking investigation into the secret world of government debt collectors won the prestigious Heywood Broun Award of Distinction and inspired lawmakers to take action with legislation aimed at closing the loophole highlighted in the stories. They were finalists for a Peabody Award for CNN’s coverage of guns in America, and the two journalists have been honored by the International Association of Broadcasting, the National Press Club, the National Endowment for Financial Education, the Radio Television Digital News Association and the National Association of Consumer Advocates. Hicken regularly appears on CNN and other television and radio networks to discuss her investigations
Before joining CNN, Hicken worked for the Los Angeles Times Community News group, where she won awards for her local government coverage and investigative reports. She is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School and holds a master’s degree in business and economic reporting from New York University.
Email her at watchdog@cnn.com.