Delta Airlines passenger gropes 16-yr-old girl, mother on 9-hr flight after consuming 11 drinks: Report

An inebriated passenger on a nine-hour Delta Airlines flight that departed from JFK Airport allegedly sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl and her mother after he was served at least 10 vodka drinks and a glass of wine. Attendants on the flight “blatantly ignored” pleas for help from the women as the drunken passenger behaved aggressively and moved on to touch the two women inappropriately, according to a $2 million lawsuit accessed by Fox Business.

The lawsuit further states that the airline staff allegedly permitted the inebriated passenger to exit the plane in Greece’s Athens without alerting local authorities or the US law enforcement about the man’s alleged misdemeanor. It further accused the airline of gross negligence and sought compensation.

“The intoxicated Delta passenger appeared to be getting drunker and drunker as the Delta flight attendants continued serving him alcohol,” the complaint said. As per the lawsuit, the inebriated man was seated next to the teenage girl and her mother on the flight.

The inebriated man allegedly attempted to speak with the teenage girl, who tried to ignore him. Incensed by this, the drunken passenger became aggressive and began yelling at the girl. The lawsuit further noted that the man made “obscene gestures” at the girl and sought her address and other personal information and grabbed her.  He then put his hands on her back, which scared the girl.

The girl’s mother told the man that her daughter is a minor who is still in high school. The man allegedly replied that he did not care, reached over the girl, and began pulling on her mother’s arm.

Other passengers also noticed as the man was screaming loudly. The flight attendants instead told the mother-daughter duo to just “be patient” and walked away when the woman said the passenger was making them feel unsafe.

Later, the drunken man “mumbled” that he was from Connecticut and allegedly started touching the minor again. The man put his head down “for about thirty seconds”, then put his head up and reportedly ran to the restroom and puked, as per the lawsuit.

The mother-daughter duo said they requested the man be seated somewhere and cut off from drinks, all of which was brushed aside by the flight attendants. The flight attendant did intervene at one point and told the man to stop talking to the women. The man then yelled at the mother and teen and said “f***ing bitches”.

As per the lawsuit, the teen was petrified and had a panic attack. The teenager put her head in her mother’s lap when the man allegedly slid his fingers underneath her shirt and groped her bra strap. The lawsuit said “trembling, petrified and crying”, the teen leapt out of her seat and away from the man.

The drunken man, however, did not stop and placed his hand on the mother’s leg. He allegedly "began moving his hand" up inside her thigh. The mother screamed and jumped from her seat. The woman demanded once again that their seats be changed but the flight attendants said they cannot do anything. A male passenger, however, volunteered to switch seats with the teen girl.

The male passenger sat between the intoxicated man and the girl’s mother for the rest of the flight. The flight attendants offered the woman and her daughter 5,000 free airline miles and an apology upon landing. Delta told Fox Business that the airline “has zero tolerance for customers who engage in inappropriate or unlawful behaviour”. The airline further said the safety of its customers and people is of the utmost importance.

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