Southwest Airways Sued After a Passenger Allegedly Sexually Assaulted a Minor

Southwest Airways is being sued after a teen says it failed to guard him from an alleged in-flight sexual assault in 2022.

On Thursday, July 18, Greenberg Gross LLP introduced in a press launch despatched to PEOPLE that it had filed a lawsuit in opposition to the airline on behalf of a teen who says a person, who gave the impression to be 50 years outdated, sexually assaulted him on a connecting flight from Las Vegas to Portland on July 4, 2022.

The criticism, which was obtained by PEOPLE, was filed on Wednesday, July 17 in the USA District Court docket for the Central District of California.

On the time, the boy, who was 16 years outdated, and his household had been headed to a marriage in Portland and boarded a flight from San Diego to Las Vegas, per the criticism. The household was then among the many final passengers to board their second flight in Las Vegas on account of a boarding group project, resulting in a flight attendant directing the teenager to a “center seat close to the again of the airplane,” in response to the lawsuit.

Southwest Airways declined PEOPLE’s request for touch upon Friday.

In accordance with Southwest’s web site, the airline provides household boarding so “as much as two adults touring with a baby six years outdated or youthful might board” between teams A and B. Moreover, the airline notes that if passengers are touring with a baby “age seven to 13 years outdated,” it “will fairly endeavor to seat a baby subsequent to 1 accompanying passenger (14 and older) to the extent practicable and at no extra price.”

Per the criticism, the boy was sitting away from his household in between two grownup males, with the agency citing the airline’s “boarding and seating insurance policies.” He was then allegedly assaulted by one of many males who gave the impression to be “visibly intoxicated” when the airplane’s cabin lights dimmed and after a window passenger fell asleep.

The lawsuit claims that the person initially grabbed the boy’s thighs and later tried to kiss him. The person then allegedly moved his hand up the boy’s groin and repeatedly grabbed his genitals from exterior of his shorts and in addition tried to have the minor contact his penis.

The criticism states that the person, “emboldened by the dearth of any flight attendant intervention or monitoring,” then continued to sexually assault the plaintiff

Per the criticism, the boy was unable to alert his mother and father, who had been sitting away from him on the flight. After leaving the airplane, he allegedly “broke down in tears and knowledgeable his mother and father of the assault,” earlier than his household contacted the Port of Portland Police Division.

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Within the press launch, the regulation agency cited a earlier sexual assault case filed on behalf of a 13-year-old woman who flew Southwest, arguing that “nothing modified.”

“The negligence demonstrated by Southwest Airways on this case displays a broader systemic failure that should be addressed to make sure the security and well-being of all passengers, particularly minors,” Greenberg Gross companion Daniel S. Cha claimed in a press release. “This lawsuit underscores the pressing want for airways to implement and implement insurance policies that shield passengers from sexual assault.”

In his personal assertion distributed by the regulation agency, the plaintiff mentioned that he determined to come back ahead “as a result of there’s quite a lot of different individuals who undergo the identical anxiousness and worry that I really feel day-after-day.”

“I need them to know that one thing will be performed about it,” he mentioned. “One thing must be performed to guarantee that youngsters are made protected.“

In accordance with the criticism, the plaintiff is in search of “reduction” together with “compensatory normal damages in an quantity to be confirmed at trial.”