SUNY Maritime Cadet Charged with Attempted Rape; Incident Reported Aboard Training Ship Empire State VII

Finn Moran, a SUNY Maritime College student, was arraigned this morning in Bronx Criminal Court on six charges, including attempted first-degree rape of a physically helpless person, following his July 2 arrest in connection with a July 1 incident. An anonymous tip submitted through MLAA’s anonymous tip line, and public posts circulating on Facebook and Reddit, describe an attempted sexual assault aboard the Training Ship Empire State VII while the ship was at the college’s own pier. Moran pleaded not guilty and was released with non-monetary conditions. Two days after the arrest, SUNY Maritime College has made no public statement.

According to New York State court records reviewed by MLAA, Finn Moran, born in 2001, was arrested on July 2, 2026 by officers of the NYPD’s 45th Precinct — the precinct covering Throggs Neck, where SUNY Maritime’s Fort Schuyler campus and the training ship’s home berth sit — in connection with an incident that occurred on July 1, 2026.

He was arraigned July 3 before Judge Giyang An in Bronx Criminal Court, Case No. CR-018624-26BX, on six charges.

The top charge is attempted rape in the first degree involving a person who is physically helpless, a class C felony. He is also charged with first-degree sexual abuse of a physically helpless person, a class D felony, as well as attempted third-degree rape of a person incapable of consent, forcible touching of intimate parts, sexual contact with a person incapable of consent, and attempted sexual misconduct.

Under New York law, a person is “physically helpless” when they are unconscious or otherwise physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act — whatever the cause of that condition. Two of the six charges rest on that element, and two more on the related element that the alleged victim was incapable of consent.

Moran pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was released with non-monetary conditions and is next due in court on August 18, 2026. He is represented by retained counsel.

The court records do not state Moran’s affiliation with the college or the ship. Information on social media identifies Finn as a first-class cadet on his senior training cruise, and the details in the court records, including the incident date, the arresting precinct, and the timing of the arrest, align with the incident described in the tip and public posts discussed below.

Court records do not identify the complainant, and MLAA does not identify victims of alleged sexual violence without their consent.

On July 2, traffic to a six-year-old MLAA article, a first-person account by a SUNY Maritime graduate titled “I Was Sexually Assaulted at SUNY Maritime, and Again on a Union Ship After I Graduated,” spiked without explanation. The reason soon became clear: an arrest aboard the training ship was being discussed in public posts on Facebook and on Reddit, where many SUNY Maritime students and alumni post candidly about the school. Then, an anonymous tip describing the incident arrived through MLAA’s tip line. The tip and the public posts led MLAA to the court records described above.

MLAA has obtained and reviewed a roughly 19-second recording of a public Facebook post from July 2, which remained live as of publication. The clip shows a person escorted down the Empire State VII’s gangway and away from the vessel. A commenter identified the location as Olivet Pier, the ship’s home berth at SUNY Maritime’s Throggs Neck campus, writing: “They stopped at home port.”

The caption on the public post reads: “This is a video of a cadet in handcuffs being arrested today…I am highly concerned and feel we need to know what is happening to ensure safety and accountability.”

Other public comments described the situation as “horrifying,” called for “a major investigation,” and demanded that “more info needs to be made public about this incident.” The original poster later added a link to sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH) support resources for mariners.

The video itself does not identify the person shown, the arresting agency, or the charges, and MLAA has not confirmed the identity of the person shown.

Public posts and information provided to MLAA describe the alleged victim as a freshman on her first training cruise, known as the “MUG cruise” in the school’s vernacular, for Mariner Under Guidance — and describe an alleged assault that occurred in a passageway aboard the ship, in front of a lounge, where another male cadet saw what was happening and physically intervened. MLAA has not independently verified those details, which are not reflected in the court records it has reviewed. The court records are, however, consistent with parts of the account: the charged offenses allege a victim who was physically helpless and incapable of consent.

The tip submitted to MLAA also stated that a second student was removed from the ship this week for separate reasons. MLAA is not naming that student, who has not been arrested or charged in any record MLAA has reviewed.

A recurring sentiment in public discussion of the incident is skepticism that the school would have involved law enforcement had the incident not been witnessed by other students. MLAA cannot verify that assessment — but the fact that members of the school’s own community express it is itself notable, and it echoes what MLAA has heard from maritime academy students and graduates for years.

The Empire State VII departed on its 2026 Summer Sea Term on May 18 with more than 500 cadets aboard. According to the college’s own announcement, the ship’s itinerary called for port visits in Charleston, Málaga, and Belfast, followed by a return to New York waters for Sail4th 250, the international fleet gathering in New York Harbor running July 3 through July 8, then a call in Albany before returning to campus on July 16.

The July 1 incident date in the court records, and the identification of Olivet Pier in public comments on the arrest video, indicate the ship had called at its home berth in the days before the Sail4th 250 anchorage, with the training cruise still underway and hundreds of students living aboard.

While the Empire State VII participates in Sail4th 250 in New York Harbor, one of the students who was sailing aboard her has appeared in Bronx Criminal Court on attempted rape charges.

As of publication — two days after the arrest and hours after the arraignment — MLAA has found no public statement from SUNY Maritime College, no press coverage, and no crime alert regarding the incident.

That silence raises specific legal questions. As a federally funded institution, SUNY Maritime is subject to the Clery Act, which requires timely warnings to the campus community about reported crimes that may represent a serious or continuing threat. As a SUNY campus, it is also subject to New York’s “Enough is Enough” law, Education Law Article 129-B, which imposes its own reporting, response, and transparency obligations for sexual violence involving students.

Maritime attorney Ryan Melogy, who represented “Midshipman-X” in the case that helped expose the epidemic of sexual assaults plaguing the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s Sea Year, said the absence of any public warning from SUNY Maritime is not surprising.

“This is the maritime academy playbook, and we have seen it for decades: say nothing, wait for the news cycle to pass, and hope the students who know stay quiet. A cadet was arraigned on attempted rape charges this morning and the college hasn’t said a word to the hundreds of families with kids on that ship. The silence isn’t an oversight. It’s a deliberate strategy,” Melogy said.

MLAA has submitted questions to SUNY Maritime College, including: whether it issued a timely warning or any notification to students, parents, or the campus community; whether the alleged victim has been offered the accommodations, protections, and reporting options required under Title IX and Article 129-B; whether a second student was removed from the ship, and on what grounds; whether any student involved had previously been the subject of complaints; whether the 2025 Summer Sea Term generated sexual harassment or Title IX complaints; and whether the ship’s master or the college notified the U.S. Coast Guard of the incident.

MLAA has also requested the University Police Department’s daily crime log entries for June 28 through July 3, 2026. Under the Clery Act, that log is a public record that must be made available to anyone upon request, generally within two business days of an incident being reported.

This story will be updated with any response.

The surge of readers finding their way back to a 2020 survivor account is its own data point. In that account, a SUNY Maritime graduate described being assaulted in a campus dorm and told MLAA that when she reported it to a regimental officer she trusted, “all he asked me was did I punch him in the face.” Read the survivor account.

Sexual violence in the maritime world is not a new story, and it is not confined to any one campus or company. MLAA’s investigations have documented two decades of NCIS sex-crime investigations tied to Military Sealift Command vessels, the Coast Guard’s failure to use its new license-revocation authority against an abuser identified by a federal judge, and the license surrender of a captain accused of rape aboard the USNS Carson City.

Training ships occupy a particular place in this pattern. They are floating dormitories, workplaces, and classrooms at once: hundreds of young people, confined quarters, a rigid chain of command, and powerful institutional incentives to keep problems quiet.

If you were aboard the Empire State VII this week, or if you are a SUNY Maritime student, parent, or staff member with firsthand knowledge of this incident or the college’s response to it, MLAA wants to hear from you. You can reach us through our anonymous tip line.

Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the safety and legal rights of American seafarers. This article is journalism and public-interest reporting; it is not legal advice.