FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - A 69-year-old man was arrested at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, after authorities said, he reached under a woman’s skirt on a Spirit Airlines flight.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to an assault call at the airport, located at 200 Terminal Drive, at around 8:54 p.m., Tuesday.
BSO said that the incident happened aboard Spirit Airlines flight 280, which departed from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
Upon arrival, deputies said, they met with the victim, who told them that a passenger, identified as Jeffrey Tate, reached under her skirt as she walked past his seat during the flight.
Once the flight landed, airport deputies took Tate into custody.
A fellow passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, said she saw it happen.
“I witnessed a lady walking down the plane, exiting the bathroom, and this man on the aisle stuck his hand up her skirt, up her dress,” said the woman.
The woman said that once they landed, the airline and the sheriff’s office worked quickly to detain Tate.
“At the end of the flight, the captain had everyone remain in their seats with their seat belts on. The sheriffs came on to the plane and they escorted the victim out and then, a few minutes later, took him out in handcuffs,” said the woman.
Tate was transported to BSO Main Jail and faces one count of touch or strike battery.
Spirit Airlines released a statement to 7News that reads in part:
“We take any allegation of this nature seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.“
Spirit Airlines
In court on Friday, Tate was given a $7,500 bond and ordered not to have any contact with the victim and not to return to the airport.
“No victim contact and no return to the location,” the judge said in court. “I don’t want him to go on an airplane at FLL anytime soon, so, while the case is pending, no return airport.”
The victim’s age remains unclear.
Tate remains in jail.
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