A 21-year-old woman on a flight from Newark to Boston allegedly used her phone to raise the alarm over a 76-year-old male who was masturbating in the seat next to her.
The male passenger, Donald Edward Robinson, of Bonita Springs, Florida, was arrested after landing at Boston’s Logan Airport on 8 April, the Massachusetts US Attorney’s Office said on Friday.
He is accused of “lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction” towards a female passenger who was sat next to him for the entire duration of the trip from Newark, in New Jersey, to Boston, in Massachusetts.
The ordeal began “minutes” after the plane took off from Newark Liberty International Airport, according to the attorney’s office, with the woman telling investigators Mr Robinson began touching himself.
“The victim recorded a 24-second video of Robinson allegedly fondling and manipulating his penis through his pants,” it was claimed. “A short time later, it is alleged that the victim looked over and saw that Robinson had exposed his penis.”
The attorney’s office said the harassment carried on until the end of the flight, when “approximately five minutes before landing, Robinson allegedly placed his hand on the victim’s thigh, prompting the victim to ask why he was touching her”.
Mr Robinson allegedly “withdrew his hand and looked out the window” in response, which forced the woman to alert another passenger to what had happened to her by typing on her phone with the words: “Hi, this man assaulted me and touched my leg and is masturbating.”
Mr Robinson was picked up by a security camera leaving the Boston Logan Airport terminal building.
He was then arrested on Sunday, according to the attorney’s office, and charged for “lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States”.
If convicted, he faces up to 90 days in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000 (£3,841). It was not clear if Mr Robinson had an attorney however.
According to the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) there have been 1.081 incidents of unruly passengers on US flights in the past twelve months, with a spike in incidents since the Covid pandemic. It was not clear how many, if any, were in connection with indecent acts.
