A Northwest Airlines employee was arrested Monday on suspicion of sexually assaulting a passenger during an early morning flight out of Sea-Tac Airport.
A federal magistrate in Minneapolis ordered the suspect, Samuel O. Gonzalez, 20, of Lakewood, held in custody pending a hearing today. Gonzalez was charged by complaint with assault in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.
According to court documents, the female passenger was sleeping when Gonzalez sat next to her in an empty seat. She said she woke when she felt him touching her and the sensation of her shirt being lifted up. When she adjusted her clothing, she discovered that he had ejaculated on her, according to court documents.
The suspect got up and moved to another part of the aircraft. The woman notified a flight attendant, who moved her to an another seat in the front of the cabin, court documents say.
Flight 154 landed early Monday at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, where airport police met the aircraft at the flight crew's request, Northwest Airlines reported. The FBI investigated.
Gonzalez, who was off-duty, is a maintenance employee and was not part of the flight crew, the airline reported.
He has been suspended from employment during the investigation, the airline reported. "Northwest is cooperating fully with law enforcement authorities on this matter," the airline said.
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