Southwest Passenger Allegedly Groped Sleeping Woman’s Thigh, Breast, Charged With Sexual Battery

A woman who was flying Sunday from Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas, to Nashville, Tennessee, in a Southwest flight accused her co-passenger of groping her while she was sleeping on the plane.

Alfredo Vela, 30, from Houston, was arrested after the crew members requested law enforcement officers to meet Flight 4562 at the gate once it landed in Tennessee around 9:20 p.m. local time (10:20 p.m. EDT) and charged with sexual battery, Dallas News reported.

The victim said she did not know Vela and only had a brief conversation with him before falling asleep in the seat next to him. When she woke up, she claimed the accuser’s hand was rubbing her back. She also alleged Vela touched her breasts and inner thigh, as he tried to put his hand up her skirt.

Immediately after her discovery, the woman told the police she “froze in fear” and then, after she had recovered from her shock, she proceeded to report the incident to the flight crew. She further added to the authorities she never consented to being touched by Vela.

The Southwest Airlines released the following statement on the incident:

“Sunday evening, we requested law enforcement meet flight #4562 upon arrival into Nashville to investigate a Customer situation reported onboard. The passengers deplaned and the authorities conducted an investigation in the gate area. Southwest Crews are trained to take care of a wide range of sensitive customer issues, and we have zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior onboard our aircraft.

If our Crews are made aware of a harmful situation – whether witnessed first-hand or reported by someone else – our Flight Attendants are responsible for notifying the Pilots who will request the appropriate authorities meet the aircraft on the ground. Southwest cooperates with law enforcement to the fullest extent to protect our customers and crews. We take the care and safety of our customers very seriously, it’s at the forefront of everything we do.”

In addition, a Southwest spokeswoman said the victim was moved to the front of the plane, following the complaint and was among the first to deplane after the flight landed.

A couple of women travelling in other Southwest flights said they would have reacted the same way the victim did if a similar incident happened with them, Click2Houston reported.

“You go on the plane and you’re going to your destination... you’re thinking about is someone doing that to you. I think it’s terrible,” said Rita Williams, a passenger on a different Southwest Airlines flight, while another flight passenger, Kim Jordan tweeted, “I think it would have frozen too. I would have been so shocked. Honestly, for anybody to do such a thing in this day and age, knowing the awareness now, #MeToo movement, whatnot, it just stuns me that people are still that irresponsible. I don’t even know what word to use.”

According to court documents, Vela admitted to investigators he scratched the woman's back in the plane. He was booked into Davidson County Jail and posted a $5,000 bond Monday morning.