FIRST ON FOX: The parents of a teenage girl say that a flight attendant placed a hidden camera in the first-class bathroom in order to record their daughter.
Massachusetts State Police initially said that a “potential criminal act” happened on an American Airlines flight that landed at Boston Logan International Airport from Charlotte, N.C. on Sept. 2, involving a “juvenile, a flight attendant, and a cell phone,” according to WSOC.
The family of the 14-year-old girl told Fox News Digital in a phone interview that their daughter is “very angry” and “shocked” that someone violated her privacy on the flight.
While on the American Airlines flight, the teen’s father said when she got up to go to the coach bathroom behind her on the plane, a male flight attendant approached her and said “You can use the bathroom up in first-class, it’ll be quicker.”
HIDDEN CAMERA ALLEGEDLY FOUND IN BATHROOM ONBOARD AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT
Massachusets State Police initially said that a “potential criminal act” happened on an American Airlines flight that landed at Boston Logan International Airport from Charlotte, N.C. on Sept. 2, which involved a “juvenile, a flight attendant, and a cell phone,” according to WSOC. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file/Provided)
The teen then walked to the first-class bathroom with the male flight attendant, who stopped her before she could reach the restroom and said “Let me go in, I need to get in there and wash my hands. We’re about to collect garbage,” according to the parent.
To the teen’s recollection, the man was in the bathroom for a minute before coming out. When the male flight attendant came out, he allegedly told her the seat was broken.
According to her father, the girl then entered the bathroom and saw red tape that indicated the seat was broken. The teen proceeded to use the bathroom, but when she got up, she saw a phone being held up by the red tape on the toilet seat.
The teenager snapped a picture of the phone attached to the toilet seat, which shows its light on as well.
“Seat broken,” writing on the red tape reads.
When she got out of the bathroom, the male flight attendant allegedly went right back into the restroom.
After the girl informed her mother of what had just happened, a female passenger in first-class was getting ready to enter the restroom.
“Don’t go in there,” the mother said she told the woman in first-class. “My daughter’s just been in there, there’s a camera in there.”
The family of the 14-year-old girl, who asked to remain anonymous, told Fox News Digital in a phone interview that their daughter is “very angry” and “shocked” that someone violated her privacy on the flight. (Provided)
When the mother entered the bathroom, the phone was gone.
The father said he eventually showed the picture of the phone on the toilet seat to the male flight attendant, whose face “went white,” and tried to explain he hadn’t seen anything like that before.
After the family explained the situation to the other flight attendants, the captain was informed and law enforcement met the plane when it arrived at Boston Logan International Airport.
The family said they were escorted off the plane first and then gave statements to state police and the FBI.
After officials escorted the male flight attendant off the plane, the father said that detectives showed their daughter a phone, asking if she could confirm it was the one she saw in the bathroom. She gave a positive identification, the father said, adding that it looked exactly like the one in the picture she took.
The parents said that American Airlines hasn’t contacted him since the incident allegedly happened almost two weeks ago.
“Never heard a word from them,” the mother said. “That’s been very surprising to me.”
“I have no idea why they didn’t reach out to us. I mean, all weekend I thought, surely they’ll be calling any minute. Surely they’ll be calling, you know, and never anything,” the mother said, adding they have platinum status with the airline.
“One of the things you shouldn’t have to worry about is that a member of the flight crew, who you’re legally obligated to follow their instructions. And who are trusted with your safety, that they’re going to target one of your kids and obtain child pornography on a plane. I mean, it’s just it blows your mind,” the father said. “I think as a teenage girl, she’s embarrassed. I think it’s, I mean, it’s hard to imagine a more intimate violation of privacy than this. And I mean, I think it’s obvious what that setup was meant to film. And I think it’s just it’s disgusting.”
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American Airlines has signed off on a $4.8 billion lease with Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which includes funding for a sixth terminal. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
A spokesperson for the FBI told Fox News Digital the agency responded to the incident along with Massachusetts State Police, but declined to comment any further.
American Airlines didn’t respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
“It is shocking that a sexual predator could brazenly prey on a minor while she used the bathroom on a flight. This outrageous act should have never occurred and must never occur again” said the family’s attorney, Paul Llewellyn, of Lewis & Llewellyn LLP.
The family is asking anyone who saw the incident happen to contact pllewellyn@lewisllewellyn.com.
