13-Year-Old Unaccompanied Minor Groped, Tormented On American Airlines Flight

13-year-old unaccompanied minor groped for 30 minutes before a flight attendant notices

When 26-year-old Chad Cameron Camp boarded his American Airlines flight from Dallas to Portland last week, he had his choice of seats on the half empty plane. He chose to take his assigned seat next to a 13-year-old girl who was traveling as an unaccompanied minor.

When flight attendants asked if he’d like to move out of his center seat to be more comfortable, he declined — which should have been a huge red flag to flight attendants, who for some reason didn’t offer to move the young girl who now had the unfortunate luck of sitting next to a man whose first word when he boarded the plane was a loud, “F—,” according to The Washington Post.

“When a flight attendant returned for drink service a half hour later, she saw Camp’s hand on the teenager’s crotch,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Washington Post. “She also saw ‘a single tear coming down the victim’s cheek.'”

Flight attendants moved Camp away from the girl, but what she endured for that 30 minutes can only be described as hell. He was arrested by FBI agents after landing at Portland International Airport. The following day, he pleaded not guilty to a charge of abusive sexual contact.

Every time he turned the pages of his magazine he intentionally brushed up against her arms. “Each time he turned the page he used his elbow to brush up against the victim’s shoulder and upper arm area. The victim attempted to move away from Camp’s physical contact, and each time she withdrew, he would laugh,” the complaint obtained by The Washington Post states. “After finishing with the magazine, Camp leaned toward the victim to place the magazine in the seat pocket in front of the victim. Camp instead dropped the magazine on the victim’s shoes.”

He asked her to share his headphones and when she declined he threw them in her lap. The complaint then alleges he repeatedly placed his hands on the girls knee and upper thigh. Every time she pushed him away he started laughing. When the flight attendant finally came around for a drink order and noticed, the girl was crying.

[shareable_quote]”She also ‘saw a single tear coming down the victim’s cheek.'”[/shareable_quote]

Here’s American Airlines’ policy for unaccompanied minors:

“Our unaccompanied minor service is to ensure your child is boarded onto the aircraft, introduced to the flight attendant, chaperoned during connections and released to the appropriate person at their destination.” So if there are no connections, the unaccompanied minor service guarantees they will board your child and release them to the appropriate person — for $150 each way.

These parents paid $300 extra for their teenager to be molested on a flight with no one noticing.

American Airlines’ unaccompanied minor policy is a load of shit.

They charge $150 extra each way to make sure kids are boarded, while also requiring parents to “get a security pass from the airport ticket counter to escort the minor through security to the gate.” Parents also must take the minor to the gate and remain until the flight is airborne.

So, parents are walking their kids to the gate and picking them up at the gate, and on non-stop flights the airline is doing nothing but making sure the child gets from the plane door to their seat. For $300.

“Parents are assuming they are going to be getting bodyguard service for $300, but they are not,” Brent Goodfellow, a lawyer representing the girl told The Washington Post.

JetBlue charges $100 extra per way for unaccompanied minors, but they limit the number to three per flight and only seat them in the back of the plane. United charges an extra $150 per way and seats them in the front of the plane. Neither airline allow unaccompanied minors on flights that aren’t direct. United pre-boards to show the minors safety features.

What happened to this girl is awful, and parents being gouged by American Airlines for an illusion of safety is unbelievable. There is nothing extra being done for unaccompanied minors on these flights, unless you want to argue showing a child their seat and possibly answering a few questions is worth $300. It’s insane we allow airlines to gouge families like this and then have an excuse to say “not my fault!” when their policies specifically mention how little they’ll do.

As for the flight attendant – she merely had her eyes open, she’s not a hero.

A loud man boards a plane spouting expletives, refuses to move out of a middle seat next to a young, unaccompanied minor on a half-empty plane — and not one flight attendant saw anything odd about that scenario? No words.

The girl is terrified to fly again.