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‘Deadliest Catch’ Scandal: Edgar Hansen Defends Brother Sig Against Abuse Claims

By Heather Tooley
Published on: 12:35 PST, Mar 21, 2017

Deadliest Catch’s Sig Hansen is embroiled in a sex abuse scandal involving his estranged daughter, and after several days of reported allegations that he molested her when she was only 2-years-old, Sig’s brother, Edgar Hansen, is coming to his defense.

Edgar brands the allegations made by Melissa Eckstrom as lies and a total set up. Sig has basically said the same thing, calling it an “old-fashioned shakedown.”

RadarOnline published Edgar Hansen’s statement in which he blasts his brother’s daughter for accusing him of sexually abusing her. He rails against her claims, calling them “terrible lies.”

“There is never any doubt that Sig is a great guy and a wonderful father. He is absolutely innocent of any of these terrible lies.”

Edgar says charges Eckstrom is making against his brother are false.

“This has been a set up from the very beginning. We thought this nightmare was over after Sig was cleared in a court of law, but sickeningly, that was just the beginning.”

Edgar continues in his comments that Melissa’s mother, Lisa Eckstrom, has tried ruining the Hansens’ reputation to get their money.

“Over nearly 30 years, Lisa Eckstrom and her family have come after Sig and our family three times, trying to smear our good name and get our money. Now, they wait until the guy has a heart attack, and then kick him when he’s down. That’s the very definition of evil.”

Sig Hansen brushed off the allegations as a means of getting back at him for refusing to pay for his daughters $300,000 in law school admission costs. The allegations were already settled in court three decades ago. The Deadliest Catch star was never charged with anything.

Sig has shot down all charges, telling Radar that the allegations were rehashed in his wife’s effort to take away his daughter and get money.

“I’m a pretty plain-spoken guy, and to me, this is nothing more than a shakedown. The allegations are completely false, rehashed lies my ex-wife Lisa Eckstrom used nearly 30 years ago to take away my daughter, and has continued to try to use to extort money from me.”

The popular Deadliest Catch captain explained that he was exonerated of the allegations after a “full court trial.” His ex-wife took him, as well as his parents, to trial back in 1990. Hansen goes on to say that a “prosecuting attorney, a judge, court-appointed experts, a guardian ad litem and team of other child experts all agreed that these claims were pure fiction.”

Moreover, Sig passed a polygraph test.

Melissa Eckstrom, now 28 and an attorney, argues that her father is telling his own lies and that she has terrible nightmares because of the alleged abuse. She further claims that she’s afraid to turn on the television because she might see her dad on TV, which only adds to her anxiety and depression.

A rep for the Discovery Channel says in a statement that the network fully supports Sig in light of this scandal.

“A court reviewed the facts 25 years ago and found there was no merit to the allegations. Out of respect for the family and all those involved, we will refrain from commenting any further. This does not impact the show.”

Do you agree with Edgar Hansen that the allegations are lies and a set up by his daughter and the rest of her family?

Deadliest Catch Season 13 premieres Tuesday, April 11 on the Discovery Channel at 9 p.m., ET.

[Featured Image by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images]

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