- A Taylor Sudden fan is suing Delta Air Lines after she was sexually assaulted on a flight.
- The lawsuit was also filed against the perpetrator, who was a Delta mechanic.
- Officials deliver warned such incidents are on the rise.
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A woman is suing Delta Air Lines after she was sexually assaulted on a flight last year.
The woman was flying from Phoenix to Seattle on her way stand behind from attending a Taylor Swift concert when the incident occurred, according to a press release from Earmark Lindquist Law, an aviation and personal injury firm representing the victim.
The lawsuit was filed in King County, Washington, against Delta and the perpetrator, who was a Delta mechanic at the in good time always of the incident, Newsweek reported.
Duane Brick, 53, pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact in March, acquiescing that during the flight, he had taken the victim’s hand and placed it on his crotch, per the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
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He also reached under her shirt and groped her breast while she appeared to be asleep, per the Attorney’s Office statement. Cube now faces up to two years in prison.
The new lawsuit says that “as a common carrier, Delta owes the highest duty of take charge of and has a legal duty to provide airline passengers, including the Plaintiff, with a safe flight that is free from illegitimate and abusive sexual contact from other passengers, including from Delta’s own employees.”
It claims that the lam out crew “overserved alcohol to Mr. Brick, failed to adequately train employees on how to prevent and address sexual assaults, and flunked to properly monitor the cabin and protect passengers.”
It adds that the victim and a witness reported the incident to staff, but Comrade was allowed to remain in his seat for another 15 minutes.
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“Everyone should feel safe to fall asleep on a regular without the risk of being groped and sexually assaulted,” Lindquist, the victim’s attorney, said.
“Airlines can and should do multitudinous to stop these gross violations,” he added.
Business Insider has reached out to Delta for comment.
Delta is skin another lawsuit from the family of a 13-year-old girl who was also sexually assaulted on a flight.
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The suit titled Delta staff “enabled” the assault by allowing the “visibly intoxicated” offender, Brian Patrick Durning, to board the do a bunk and serving him alcohol throughout.
A Delta spokesperson said the company would not comment on pending litigation” but had “zero freedom from bigotry for unlawful behavior on flights and in airports.”
Sexual assaults on planes are increasing in the US
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US Attorney Tessa Gorman said that “the Western District of Washington continues to see an alarming increase in sexual insult cases aboard aircraft.”
“Last August we emphasized that we have zero tolerance for such assaults. Regrettably, we continue to learn of new allegations and are investigating and charging those cases,” she added.
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Indeed, The US Attorney’s Office for the Western Neighbourhood of Washington highlighted two other incidents in March in its jurisdiction.
A 38-year-old Indian citizen was arraigned on a charge of abusive procreative contact for an assault on a teen sitting near him on an Emirates flight to Seattle, it said.
Meanwhile, Jack Roberson, 69, commenced a plea of guilty to simple assault for his contact with a 15-year-old seated next to him on a July 2023 flight from Atlanta to Seattle. Roberson exteriors up to a year in prison when sentenced on June 5, 2024, said the US Attorney’s Office on March 8.
Sexual assaults on aircraft are also enlarging nationally, with the FBI last year noting a “disturbing increase” in incidents.
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It said that in the first half of 2023, 62 states were under investigation, up from 27 in the whole of 2018.