Two JetBlue pilots are accused of drugging and sexually assaulting three female airline workers, according to a lawsuit.
The incident allegedly occurred during a layover in Puerto Rico, said the lawsuit that was filed in Brooklyn, New York, reported the New York Post.
After crew members met Flight Officers Eric Johnson and Dan Watson on the beach, they found out they were JetBlue pilots, said the report. They drank beer together.
“The beer was laced with a drug, and after that point, the rest of the night became a blur for [the women],” said the lawsuit that was filed earlier this week.
A JetBlue Airways terminal. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)The women were identified as Jane Doe 1 from Riverton, Utah; Jane Doe 2 from Fort Worth, Texas; and a third unnamed crew member with no hometown.
According to the lawsuit, they ended up at the Intercontinental Hotel with the pilots.
Jane Doe 1 claimed that Johnson assaulted her and the third crew member.
“[Jane Doe 1] felt the influence of the drug that [Johnson] laced the beer with, and was unable to react to the situation, but was simply aware that it was happening,” said the lawsuit, as reported the Post.
(Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images)“[Her] flashes of memory included Johnson having sexual intercourse with the other crewmember who was also under the influence of the drugs,” according to the lawsuit.
Jane Doe 2 became sick from the drugs and vomited, said the lawsuit.
The Daily News, citing the lawsuit, reported that Watson “left the scene after having been scratched.” He is accused of feeding the drug to the women.
On a flight to Newark, New Jersey, the women said they felt “groggy and numb” and “expressed to each other that they were stunned by what had happened,” according to the Post.
The Intercontinental Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Google Street View)The women reported the rape to JetBlue, but they said the airliner did nothing.
“What happened to my clients is truly horrific, and Jet Blue’s failure to take appropriate action is appalling,” said a lawyer for the women, Abraham Melamed.
They are suing for $75,000 each in damages along with attorney’s fees.
JetBlue said it cannot comment on pending litigation, saying it takes “allegations of violent or inappropriate behavior very seriously and investigates such claims thoroughly,” the Post reported.
A representative for the firm told Fox News that “we work to create a respectful workplace for all our crewmembers where they feel welcome and safe.”
Other details about the case are not clear.
Violent Crime Down
Despite the recent spike in gun crime in Atlanta, violent and property crimes have seen a downward trend, according to statistics collected by the FBI. Some areas, however, have significantly deteriorated and others, despite improvements, still need attention.
The violent crime rate—including offenses such as murder, robbery, and aggravated assault—dropped by almost 1 percent and is still about 4 percent above the 2014 rate. The murder rate dropped by 0.7 percent.
The decline in crime, albeit small, cut short a worrisome spike in violence in previous years. Between 2014 and 2016, the murder rate had increased by more than 20 percent, to 5.4 per 100,000 residents, from 4.4. The last two-year period that the rate soared so quickly was between 1966 and 1968.
The rate of property crimes, such as theft and burglary, has declined 3.6 percent since 2016 and is down more than 26 percent since a decade ago.
