Man sentenced to six months in prison for sexually abusing a woman on a flight to Seattle

LOS ANGELES — Warning: This story describes details of a sexual assault. Please read with caution.

A former aircraft mechanic was sentenced to six months in prison for sexually assaulting a woman on a flight from Phoenix to Seattle last year.

The perpetrator, 53-year-old Duane Brick, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse on board an aircraft for repeatedly groping a 24-year-old woman on the March 20, 2023 flight.

Brick pleaded guilty on March 5, 2024, and was sentenced on Monday to six months in prison and five years probation.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Brick touched the victim several times while he was wearing headphones and trying to sleep. The victim took an anti-anxiety medication before departure due to fear of flying.

When she woke up, she found that Brick had grabbed her hand and placed it on his crotch. He then touched her face, head, arm, and chest several times. He also tried to put his hand down her pants twice when she repeatedly told him “no.”

The victim and another witness reported the incidents to the flight crew in an attempt to have the police meet the plane upon landing. However, Brick, an airline employee, was able to convince the flight crew that the contact was accidental and he was allowed to leave the airport after landing.

Brick’s employment was terminated by the airline.

“This was a serious and horrifying crime,” said U.S. District Judge James Chun at the sentencing on Monday. “He was clearly a sex offender. He checked to see if she was responsive, and when she wasn’t, he continued the abuse.”

This comes amid a rise in sexual assaults on airplanes across the country. From 2019 to 2021, there was a 25% increase in sexual misconduct investigations on airplanes, according to the FBI. In 2018, there were 27 sexual misconduct investigations. In 2022, that number rose to 90 investigations, and in 2023, there were 96.

According to the FBI, most perpetrators in these cases are men. The perpetrators target women, unaccompanied minors and people who take medication or drink alcohol to relax during the flight. Here are some tips from the FBI on how to protect yourself:

• Always keep the armrest of the seat down.
• Be wary of “accidental touches.” Some predators test people multiple times to see how they react before attacking them.
• Inform the flight crew of any incidents as soon as possible.

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