SEATTLE — Federal officials are asking for help from the public to combat a disturbing upward trend: sexual assault on airplanes.
"When something seems unusual, as we always say, if you see something, say something and do something," said Richard Collodi, the Special Agent in Charge at FBI Seattle.
A 70-year-old man from North Carolina was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to groping a 15-year-old girl on a Delta flight from Atlanta to Seattle. The man, 70-year-old Jack Roberson, was sentenced to six months in federal prison and 12 months of supervised release, and the federal agents in Seattle are hoping his case serves as a warning for others.
"We hope folks recognize that's a hazardous choice,” said Collodi. "If you're going to take action or assault somebody, or touch someone inappropriately on an aircraft, you're going to be held accountable for it."
According to court documents, while seated next to a 15-year-old girl, Roberson pretended to be asleep. That's when records show he slipped his hand onto the girl’s thigh and ran it up and under her skirt.
What happened next is an act of bravery, according to U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman.
"Oftentimes what we see is victims freeze, they're terrified," said Gorman. "They don't know what to do, they have nowhere to go. They're captive, they're right next to the person who just sexually assaulted them.”
Federal attorneys said the girl was shocked and afraid after being groped, but that after it happened, she bravely told her guardian, who called over the flight attendant.
"These people show such courage and such bravery," said Gorman.
Flight staff moved Roberson to a different seat and alerted authorities. Upon arrival at SEA Airport, he was met with handcuffs.
In recent years, the FBI said more people are reporting sexual assaults on airplanes. Between 2019 and 2023, the FBI said they saw a 60% increase in cases like these.
"There is a threat to people on airplanes," said Collodi. "We want passengers to be paying attention, not only for themselves but for their co-travelers.”
Since the beginning of this year, law enforcement has responded to SEA Airport for nine instances of inappropriate touching on an aircraft. To put that number into context, the FBI investigated 96 cases across the nation-- in all of last year.
"Unfortunately, we've seen a disturbing uptick in these really horrible assaults," said Gorman.
Too many of the victims, Gorman said, are minors. "A lot of these crimes are affecting kids from 14 to 16. So, they're young people," said Gorman.
Ahead of the summer travel rush, many travelers are expected to take to the skies, and data research company Morning Consult reported last year that members of Gen Z are traveling as often as Millennials and more often than Gen X'ers or Baby Boomers.
Federal officials want you to be their eyes and ears. They urge you to reach out to flight attendants when something doesn't seem right because they are trained to know how to deal with such reports.
"Bystanders can really help out victims and survivors of this crime," said Gorman.
As for why we’re seeing an increase in aircraft assaults, federal officials told KING 5 they hope it's that these days, more people are reporting.
"It's probably a crime that's been terribly underreported for years because airlines and airplanes are really, particularly, good places for perpetrators of this crime," said Gorman.
But, Rachel Yemini, Asst. U.S. Attorney said it could also be that travel numbers are high at SEA Airport, which is a big hub for global travel.
Yemini said, "Transit that happens through Seattle is just bringing a lot of people here from all over the country and all over the world. It's just a numbers thing." She works as the office coordinator for sexual assault complaints.
"Most of these crimes that usually involve abuse-- abusive sexual contact, which is inappropriate sexual touching on a flight-- the maximum sentence is two years, and it's a felony charge," said Yemini.
So, what should passengers look for?
"With perpetrators, they start off kind of slowly testing out the waters, and kind of increasingly make a person uncomfortable, kind of gently... their pinky is touching someone's leg, then they move their hand to their upper leg and then their inner thigh. So we're seeing these kinds of patterns again and again and again," Yemini said. "So we just want people to be aware of this kind of behavior and report it right away."