24-year-old Molested on Flight by Airline Employee onboard Phoenix-Seattle Flight, files Lawsuit against Airlines
Seattle, WA: Following an incident of sexual assault that occurred on board a Delta flight, a female passenger has taken legal action by suing the airline and a former employee.
The woman, who was 24 years old, was on her way back to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on March 20, 2023, after attending a Taylor Swift concert in Phoenix.
Duane Brick, a former employee of the airline, admitted in federal court on March 5 to engaging in abusive sexual contact. Brick, who was 52 years old when the crime occurred, faces a possible prison term of two years when sentencing takes place on June 10.
She had taken Xanax before the flight because of a slight fear of flying, according to a complaint filed in King County, Washington on March 28 by the woman’s attorney, Mark Lindquist. Although she detected an odor of alcohol early in the flight, she felt more at ease since Brick, who was seated in the middle seat adjacent to her window seat, introduced himself as a Delta employee and appeared to know a few of the flight attendants.
“Woke up suddenly to Mr. Brick groping her breasts and body and placing her hand on his genitals,” the lady states in her complaint, adding that she “was in and out of consciousness because of Xanax.”
“He took the hand of the woman sitting next to him and placed it on his crotch,” read Brick’s guilty plea. Brick reached under the woman’s blouse and touched her breast as she seemed to be asleep.
The lawsuit claims that Delta should have educated its staff and strictly enforced its policies regarding the overserving of alcohol to customers.
The assault allegedly caused the victim to suffer “extreme emotional distress, mental anguish, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, fear of flying, physical pain, PTSD, and other personal injuries,” and the lawsuit goes on to accuse the airline and Brick of “negligence, gross negligence, and reckless acts and omissions.”
The Western District of Washington has been seeing “an alarming increase in sexual abuse cases aboard aircraft,” according to a recent news statement by U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.
