A man has been charged with abusive sexual contact after inappropriately touching two male flight attendants on a JetBlue Airways flight.
A press release from the United States Attorney’s Office said that Dennis Woodbury was indicted on a felony charge of one count of abusive sexual contact after he allegedly slapped an attendant’s butt and exposed himself to a second crew member. If found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of two years in federal prison.
This incident happened on an April 13 flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Los Angeles.
The 49-year-old—who is also an ex-California Highway Patrol captain—was purportedly “drinking heavily” during the flight. In addition to spanking the attendant’s rear, showing a male attendant pornographic imagery, he also exposed his genitalia.
“Woodbury showed one of the flight attendants a photograph of a dog. The picture contained pornographic imagery in the background. Woodbury later told one of the flight attendants that he should go on a cruise with him then made a crude hand gesture,” the statement said.
“Just after meal service and while the plane was still in the air, the second flight attendant collected passengers’ meal trays and walked past Woodbury,” the statement continued. “Woodbury, who had been drinking heavily, then used his left hand to slap the victim’s buttocks. Woodbury then yelled that he loved him.”
When Woodbury asked for more wine, he was denied and then allegedly exposed himself again. The two flight attendants told authorities they didn’t consent to his conduct.
“At JetBlue, the safety of our customers and crewmembers is our top priority," JetBlue told People. "The incident occurred on April 13, and we took immediate action at that time by notifying law enforcement. We have zero tolerance for the behavior alleged and continue to assist and cooperate fully with authorities in this case.”
Woodbury was released on a $50,000 bond following his first court appearance in April. He’s set to appear in court on May 12.
