An airline worker has been accused of groping a sleeping woman on a flight.
According to Chicago Police, Kary Scott Houghton, a 49-year-old Las Vegas man was charged with one count of misdemeanor battery after he groped a 21-year-old woman that was sitting next to him on a Southwest Airlines flight that landed in Chicago on Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Houghton admitted to being a ground transport worker for the airline after his arrest at Midway Airport. This was confirmed by Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins. It is not clear if the airline is going to take action to reprimand Houghton.
"Our crew worked together to ensure local authorities met the flight,' Hawkins said in the statement. "We will continue to cooperate with them as their investigation -- and ours -- continue.''
The police responded to a report of an altercation on incoming flight No. 580. Southwest Airlines staff member notified the police of the incident. After the flight landed, the police interviewed a witness who said that she left her aisle seat to go to the bathroom and when she returned, she noticed Houghton in the middle seat with his head down on his tray table. He was facing the 21-year-old girl who was asleep in the window seat, the police report said.
The witness said Houghton was talking but she couldn't hear what he was saying and she couldn't see where his hands were. However when he sat up, he touched the woman's back side with his right hand. The witness immediately brought it to the attention of a flight attendant.
The police also spoke to the victim. The 21-year-old California girl confirmed that she was sleeping with her head on the tray table when she felt someone rub her back and grope her breast and the front of her pants. The man also reportedly tried to unfasten her seat belt.
When she realized what was happening, she put her purse over her lap and pushed the man's hands away. Upon landing, he was placed in custody and processed by the Chicago Police.
The woman woke up, placed her purse on her lap, and pushed Houghton's hands away, the report said. He was placed in custody and processed by Chicago police. Houghton was released on his own recognizance on Tuesday night after the arrest.
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