Says Male Passenger Assaulted 11-Year-Old On January Flight

The family of an 11-year-old girl sued Delta Air Lines last week, after the child claimed a man sexually assaulted her on a flight earlier this year from San Diego to Atlanta.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the lawsuit was filed in Fulton County State Court. Attorney Mark Tate, who is representing the family, says the girl, who was traveling home alone after a visit with her father -- was traumatized by the January 6 encounter.

"Delta has a very high burden to meet in protecting passengers," said Tate. "We feel Delta didn't meet that. This little girl is not doing well. It's caused severe problems."

The paper reports the girl told her mother of the incident when she got off the plane. Her mother reported the incident to police back home in Huntsville, AL, and later police in Atlanta. The FBI was also notified.

To date, no charges have been filed, however, and no suspect has been identified. "We have a young girl in therapy and a guy who's not been called to task for it," Tate said. "That's disturbing."

The lawsuit says the man seated next to the girl on the flight was "a child molester who switched seats so that neither were in their assigned seats."

The suit goes on to detail the alleged encounter, in which the unidentified man reportedly rubbed the girl's cheek as he also touched his genitals.

Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott declined to comment directly on the allegations... but says the airline tries to look out for all passengers.

"Along with making sure passengers are comfortable and arrive at their final destination, our flight crews work to ensure their safety and security, which includes the thousands of unaccompanied minors who travel with us every year," Elliott told the Journal-Constitution.

Though rare, similar incidents have been reported before on other carriers. Northwest Airlines paid over $500,000 to a 10-year-old girl who claimed she was molested repeatedly on a 2001 flight from Kansas City to Detroit.

Other cases involving assaults on female adult passengers have also been reported.

FMI: www.delta.com