A newly released photo from the hidden camera that allegedly captured a 14-year-old girl using the toilet on an American Airlines flight shows how an iPhone was taped to the toilet lid, her parents said Wednesday.
The shaken parents – who did not want to be identified as their daughter was underage – told the Post it did not immediately register that their daughter may have been targeted by a male flight attendant during a trip on September 2 departing from Charlotte, North Carolina. , in Boston.
But they both firmly believe he carried out the alleged evil feat which they called “disturbing”.
“I think she’s really angry, like we are, that something like this could happen,” her father said.
“I think there is a real sense of violation. I think as a teenager she’s a little embarrassed that something as intimate as going to the bathroom was filmed that way.
Most of the iPhone appears to be stuck to the toilet lid of the first-class restroom, according to a photo taken by the teen and provided by the family’s legal team at Lewis & Llewellyn.
The red and white ribbon has “Food Service Equipment Inoperative” and “Remove from Service” printed on it with a note written in marker that says “Seat Broken.” Only the top of the iPhone, which was upside down, is not covered in tape – and it appears the flashlight or camera flash was on.
The family’s lawyers provided The Post with a photo of their boarding passes, which correspond to American Airlines Flight 1441 that authorities previously confirmed they were investigating.
The family said their daughter was initially waiting in line to use the toilet in the coach section of the plane when the flight attendant approached her. He told her there was no line for the first-class restroom and drove her there, her parents said.
After another passenger exited the restroom, the attendant, estimated to be in his early 30s, told the girl he needed to quickly use the restroom to wash his hands before picking up the trash. When he left, the teen went inside and used the restroom. But when she blushed, she noticed the iPhone and took a photo.
After returning to her seat, the same flight attendant returned to the bathroom, her parents said.
The teen immediately showed her mother the photo, and it took the mother several minutes to understand what she was seeing before her daughter showed her the iPhone.
“It’s something you never thought about before, and it was really shocking,” his mother said.
The mother was concerned the item was still stuck in the bathroom, so she rushed to first class to warn other passengers. She stopped a woman from entering and explained the situation to her, but when the two checked, the iPhone and tape were missing.
The girl’s father then showed the photo to all four flight attendants, including the male crew member, in the hope of getting an explanation.
“I remember seeing the flight attendant’s face go completely white,” the father recalled, noting that they did not see the man again for the rest of the flight afterward.
A flight attendant approached the family at one point to apologize and express disgust over the alleged incident, the family said.
Massachusetts State Police initially responded to the plane after it landed, although state troopers said federal authorities were now handling the matter.
The FBI’s Boston field office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts declined to comment Wednesday.
No arrests have been announced in connection with this case.
Little information has been released about the case, with state authorities only telling Charlotte-based WSOC that the incident involved “a juvenile, a flight attendant and a cell phone.”
A first-class passenger first told Boston 25 about the alleged incident last week.
As the family was being questioned by authorities after the flight, an airline representative confirmed to law enforcement that only the flight crew would have access to the paperwork visible in the photo, the father said.
Police also brought an iPhone to the teen, who confirmed it was the same phone she saw in the bathroom, the family said.
The family were the first passengers off the flight and later saw the alleged creepy attendant being escorted away.
“I looked at him and he wouldn’t turn around,” the father said.
One of the family’s lawyers said American Airlines had not contacted its customers since the day of the incident.
“It is shocking that a sexual predator would brazenly prey on a minor while she was using the restroom on an airplane,” Paul T. Llewellyn, a partner at Lewis & Llewellyn, said in a statement.
“This scandalous act should never have happened and must never happen again.”
American Airlines did not return an email seeking comment Wednesday, but has previously said it takes the alleged incident “very seriously.”
The parents said that even though their daughter is one of the toughest people they know, she is dealing with “a lot of different emotions” after the incident.
New York Post
