Off-duty Northwest employee charged
Off-duty Northwest employee chargedAssociated Press
MINNEAPOLIS - An off-duty Northwest Airlines employee was arrested after a woman on a flight from Seattle complained that the man had ejaculated on her.
The FBI identified the man as Samuel Oscar Gonzalez, 20, of Lakewood, Wash. He was charged in federal court with simple assault, a misdemeanor.
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, the woman said she was trying to sleep in her seat when the man sat down in an empty seat next to her. She said he touched her, and then got up and left. She then realized what had happened, and told flight attendants, according to the affidavit.
The crew moved the man to a seat near the front of the plane until the end of the flight. Northwest Airlines Corp. said the flight crew asked that police meet the flight from Seattle when it arrived early Monday in Minneapolis.
"The NWA employee has been suspended pending a review of the incident. Northwest is cooperating fully with law enforcement authorities on this matter," the company said in a statement.
Northwest declined to say what job Gonzalez holds with the airline.
The FBI said Gonzalez was detained after his initial appearance in federal court on Monday.
