The California mother alleges that American Airlines “denounced her on the victim,” and claims she refused to help after being sexually assaulted by a known serial plane Groper, according to a new lawsuit.
Barbara Morgan said she was sexually assaulted on April 24, 2024 by 55-year-old Cherian Abraham while on a flight from San Francisco to Dallas, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Morgan claims that despite Abraham's known risks to women on Redeye flights, American Airlines allowed him to continue flying more women, despite the cabin being an overnight trip in a dark place. NBC News reported.
“The American decisions and actions directly led to her sexual assault and further hurt her by ignoring her complaints after the attack.” Her lawyers for Romanucci and Brandin said Wednesday.
“American Airlines allowed this predator to fly after Barbara Morgan and attack another woman.
Morgan's nightmare began when he boards a Dallas-bound flight to visit his son and celebrates his new job and home in Texas City.
During the flight, Abraham is said to have begun touching Morgan several times, including between her legs.
Morgan's lawyer says that after the plane landed, the scary woman asked for help and no one came to her aid, so she froze in the face of trauma.
American Airlines has rejected Morgan on multiple occasions, telling her that she should not wait to get help, “denounce the victim,” and that she should not wait for help, the lawsuit says.
Morgan said she was scared to get help at this time, fearing retaliation from Abraham or fearing that if the incident reroutes the plane, she would anger other passengers.
American Airlines said Abraham was banned from flying with the company after being arrested in March.
“The safety of our customers and team members is our number one priority. We take this issue very seriously and we work closely with law enforcement in our investigation,” the airline said in a statement.
Abraham was taken into custody after a federal investigation into an incident that occurred on a 2076 American Airlines flight on March 18th.
He was charged with one count of abusive sexual conduct, and the investigation found Abraham, along with two cases, was accused of exploring another woman on a flight in Minneapolis in October 2023.
