Woman Says United Flight Attendants Made Her Sit Beside The Man She’d Reported For A Lewd Act—She Got A $100 Credit

A 25-year-old woman says a man masturbated while staring at her on a United flight, she went to the crew for help, and they eventually told her to sit back down beside him. She says he walked off the plane in Newark without police intervention. United later gave her a $100 flight credit. This happened on the roughly hour-long regional flight from Rochester to Newark that departed at 6 a.m. on September 3. That would be a CRJ-550 operated for United Express by GoJet. The woman was connecting to Boston to visit friends for Labor Day weekend. She says flight attendants let her stand for part of the flight. When it was time to land, though, they told her there weren’t any other seats available and she had to return to hers beside the creepy dude. She objected repeatedly. She says a flight attendant told her it would only be three to five minutes, but passengers are required to remain seated for descent and landing much longer than that. Sitting near the back meant more time beside him while waiting to get off, too. (I meant deplane.) At the gate, she says an agent told her it was her responsibility to request police. Another United employee reportedly told her the proper protocols hadn’t been followed. She complained to United and the FAA, and later contacted the FBI. She hadn’t asked for a refund. They gave her a $100 credit for future travel. She’d described a specific act, told the crew, and asked for help getting away from the man. United’s customer service response reportedly was: I can imagine how upsetting and uncomfortable it must have been to experience behavior from another passenger that caused you concern, particularly while seated in a location where you felt concerned. I’ve covered American offering 5,000 miles after a woman reported a man fondling himself on an Orlando–Dallas flight. She said she’d alerted flight attendants and the man was allowed to leave without being questioned. And in 2020, a lawsuit accused United of failing to respond to repeated complaints of sexual harassment and assault. Those passengers were reportedly offered $150 vouchers. The crew did need her seated and buckled in for landing. But she didn’t need to stick with her original seat assignment. I’d have asked a large male onboard to switch seats for landing. And the accusation warrants requesting police to meet the aircraft on arrival. Earlier this month, I covered an American passenger reportedly stripping naked and touching herself. That crew called for law enforcement. The FBI specifically tells passengers to notify flight crew about such incidents so they can coordinate a response on arrival. Prompt reporting helps investigators find witnesses before everyone scatters through the airport. The FBI reported 104 investigations into sexual assaults aboard aircraft in 2024 and warns that incidents go unreported. The actions describe seem like federal aircraft indecent exposure. 49 U.S.C. § 46506(2) incorporates a D.C. law that prohibits public self-gratification. The flight doesn’t have to go anywhere near Washington. That offense carries up to 90 days in jail and ordinarily a maximum $5,000 federal fine. The likely venue would be New Jersey, where the plane landed. Passengers are regularly prosecuted in their landing jurisdiction. Despite all this, the woman says she’ll still fly United. She has miles, their cobrand credit card, and few options out of Rochester. Topics on this page