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‘Deadliest Catch’s’ Sig Hansen Fights Scandal, As Disturbing Sketch Emerges

By Heather Tooley
Published on: 16:14 PST, Mar 19, 2017

Deadliest Catch’s Sig Hansen is in the midst of fighting a shocking scandal after his estranged daughter accused him of molesting her when she was just 2-years-old. He denies the charges, calling it an “old-fashioned shakedown,” but a new sketch that his daughter allegedly created when she was younger is adding more to the story.

As reported by the Seattle Times late last week, Sig Hansen’s daughter, Melissa Eckstrom, filed a lawsuit against the Deadliest Catch captain that alleges he sexually abused her when she was a toddler. According to documents filed in Seattle, Washington, the now 28-year-old claims that the molestation occurred in 1990 after Sig and her mother separated.

“I have memories of my father hurting my genital region. Memories of being in a room alone with my father and crying out in pain,” Eckstrom wrote in the court documents.

Radar Online published an update on Sig Hansen’s scandal by revealing that Eckstrom is using a sketch she drew as a child to serve as proof of the abuse she suffered. The sketch was something she allegedly did during a counseling session when she was a child. The characters were named “‘mommy” and “daddy” with a little girl that referenced Eckstrom. Arrows were drawn pointing to parts of the body, with one going to the “potty pot.”

Sig Hansen’s daughter claims that she told counselors during the childhood medical examination that “daddy puts his finger in my potty-pot.” She also says that she told both her grandmothers that “daddy pottied on my leg.”

For Hansen’s part, he vehemently denies the accusations — firing back that it’s Melissa’s way of lashing out at him for refusing to pay $300,000 in law school admission costs.

“‘This is nothing more than an old-fashioned shakedown. It’s a completely frivolous lawsuit full of lies that my ex-wife made up to take away my daughter, and still uses to try to extort money from me. It’s blackmail.”

Sig Hansen further tells the Seattle Times that he gave up his parental rights to Eckstrom when he divorced her mother. He believes that she was “brainwashed and programmed by her mother and multiple members of her family.”

Sig Hansen says Melissa’s mother, Lisa Eckstrom, used lies against him 30 years ago to take his daughter away from him. There had already been a court trial over the allegations three decades ago, but the allegations are arising once again. Sig also passed a polygraph test before the trial.

“The fact is, decades ago I was exonerated of these allegations after a full court trial.”

Melissa Eckstrom maintains that seeing her father in the media only “exacerbates” her “pain and suffering.” She goes on to say that she’s even nervous about changing the channel on her TV for fear of seeing her father on the screen. Moreover, Eckstrom says she has “nightmares regularly.”

Sig Hansen is facing all kinds of drama just weeks before a new season of Deadliest Catch begins. He had a serious heart attack last year and has to re-evaluate whether his fishing career is worth risking his life. The latest charges brought against him by his own daughter are sure to create more headlines as the show’s new season approaches. It looks like this scandal for the Deadliest Catch fan favorite is just beginning.

Deadliest Catch Season 13 premieres on Tuesday, April 11, on Discovery at 9 p.m., ET/6 p.m., PT.

[Featured Image by Discovery Channel]

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