'Deadliest Catch' star Sig Hansen accused of sexually abusing his daughter as a child

"The Deadliest Catch" star Sig Hansen is being sued by his estranged daughter for sexually abusing her as a toddler. Melissa Eckstrom, 28, alleges that her crab boat captain father molested her as a child, three decades ago while he was getting divorced from her mother.

Eckstrom, who claims the abuse happened when she was 2 years old, is suing Hansen for the effects the abuse has had on her life. She has suffered from depression, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders and haunting memories since the alleged ordeal.

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The Seattle-based family attorney filed her lawsuit last year, and the case file includes a deputy prosecutor's letter from the year of the abuse that expresses doubt around whether they could prove the abuse, despite the fact that they did believe it had occurred.

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"I have memories ... of being in a room alone with my father and crying out in pain," Eckstrom writes.

Hansen vehemently denies his estranged daughter's claims, however.

"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," he said recently. "It's blackmail."

He also alleges that his daughter's allegations don't tell the full story. The case is currently "in limbo" in King County, Washington.

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