PORTLAND, OR (WCMH/AP) – On Oregon man is accused of groping a 13-year-old girl during an American Airlines flight last week. Now, the girl’s family is considering a lawsuit against the airline.
Chad Cameron Camp, 26, is charged with one federal count of abusive sexual contact. He said little at the hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Jelderks, and defense attorney Ralph Gzik did not contest a prosecutor’s recommendation to keep him in a Portland jail for now.
“I just don’t want to say anything wrong,” Camp said of his reticence.
He will remain in custody until his arraignment on July 15.
The 13-year-old’s mom was in tears Monday as she recalled the incident, saying both the suspect and American Airlines need to be held accountable.
“It’s so many different emotions… initially you’re shocked and then you’re angry,” the victim’s mother told KOIN-TV. “You’re sad that your child has to deal with this for the rest of her life.”
She paid $150 more each way for her daughter to fly alone and thought she would be protected. Instead, the girl spent 30 minutes trying to get Camp to stop touching her.
“At one point she said, ‘What are you doing to me?’ and nobody could hear because no one was even close enough,” the victim’s mom said. “A lot of comments [say], ‘Why didn’t she say something?’ and she did and he laughed… If somebody would have been close enough to hear it could have been prevented.”
A witness told investigators that Camp consumed four mixed drinks in one hour at an airport bar before the flight. Glancing at paperwork, the judge noticed that Camp has a history of substance abuse.
“There is a big difference between being a drunk and a drunk who abuses youngsters,” the judge warned.
Authorities say a flight attendant was delivering snacks early in the flight when she noticed Camp’s hand in the victim’s crotch area. She then noticed a single tear falling down the girl’s cheek.
The flight attendant quickly separated them, sending Camp to row 30 and the unaccompanied minor to row 8.
“The victim had to go to the bathroom for the duration of the flight but was too frightened to get up due to possibly seeing Camp on the plane,” according to an affidavit written by FBI agent Travis Gluesenkamp.
FBI agents arrested Camp after Wednesday’s flight from Dallas landed at Portland International Airport. The following day, he pleaded not guilty to a charge of abusive sexual contact.
The girl’s mother says the airline needs more detailed policies to protect unaccompanied minors on flights, like making sure they are always seated near flight attendants.
Now the family is working to file a civil suit against the airline.
“They want to make sure that change happens so no other child has to go through this,” the victim’s attorney Brent Goodfellow said.
Goodfellow described the incident as “100% preventable”.
A Lewis & Clark University law professor says, if the family can prove the crew was unreasonable and negligent with their actions, they could be held liable.
“Obviously the [flight attendant] can’t stand there and watch her the whole time,” professor William Funk said. “But if there was any indication something was wrong and brought to their attention and they didn’t do anything, that would matter.”
American Airlines says it cares deeply about young passengers and is committed to providing safe travel experiences. The airline has cooperated with investigators.KOIN-TV and the Associated Press contributed to this report.What others are clicking on:
