Federal officials said that a man who was found guilty of groping an 18-year-old on an Alaska Airlines aircraft would be sent to jail.
According to McClatchy News, in March 2024, 42-year-old Justin Baker was traveling from Burbank, California, to Seattle when he discovered the woman sitting next to him was only 18 years old and getting ready to start college.
According to court filings, Baker started shoving his knee into the woman’s knee before she approached the window to avoid being touched.
According to records, Baker then showed the woman texts he had exchanged with his wife about having sex.
According to records, Baker caressed the woman’s thigh before covering both of their laps with his jacket.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington on February 18, she tried to get away from him, but he reached under the jacket and grabbed her thigh once more after she had refused his initial effort to contact her.
According to the prosecution, he then reached into her shirt and caressed her breast after feeling her genitalia over her clothes.
According to investigators, she eventually stood up to inform the flight crew, and Baker touched her buttocks as she passed him.
On February 19, McClatchy News requested a statement from Baker’s attorney and Alaska Airlines and was expecting a response.
Because she has anxiety related to traveling and airports, the victim told the court during the trial that the assault changed the course of her life, according to the release.
According to officials, Baker received a two-year prison sentence for engaging in abusive sexual intercourse.
According to prosecutors, Baker will be subject to five years of federal monitoring after his release from jail and will need to register as a sex offender.
The National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached at 1-800-656-4673 or through its online chatroom if you have been sexually assaulted and need someone to talk to.
The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington, 2025. Go to The News Tribune’s website. Tribune Content Agency, LLC is the distributor.
