Woman sues American Airlines after alleged sexual assault on overnight flight
The Brief
Barbara Morgan filed a federal lawsuit claiming she was sexually assaulted during an April 2024 flight from San Francisco to Dallas.
The suit alleges American Airlines ignored prior reports about the same passenger and failed to protect her.
Attorneys say Morgan's complaint was dismissed by the airline, contributing to further assaults by the same man.
CHICAGO - A California woman is suing American Airlines, alleging she was sexually assaulted by a fellow passenger on an overnight flight — and that the airline knowingly allowed the passenger, a previously reported offender, to fly again.
What we know
Barbara Morgan, represented by the Chicago-based law firm Romanucci & Blandin, filed a lawsuit earlier this month in federal court claiming she was sexually assaulted on an American Airlines flight from San Francisco to Dallas on April 24, 2024.
According to the complaint, Morgan was seated in a middle seat next to Cherian Abraham, a Texas man with a history of reported in-flight assaults.
During the flight, Morgan says Abraham touched her inappropriately multiple times in the darkened cabin. She yelled at him to stop, but says the flight crew did not intervene.
When she reported the incident after landing, Morgan says a gate agent asked why she hadn't spoken up during the flight and told her to file a complaint online.
Despite multiple follow-ups — including emails to top American Airlines executives — Morgan says she received only a generic response and that when she was finally contacted by someone from American, they blamed her for not reporting the conduct while in-flight.
In March 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office charged Abraham with sexually assaulting another passenger on an American Airlines flight. That complaint cited earlier incidents, including Morgan's.
What's next
Morgan's attorneys are seeking a jury trial in U.S. District Court in Northern California. The lawsuit brings several claims against both American Airlines and Abraham, including negligence, fraudulent concealment, and gender violence.
The legal team says this case is about more than one incident — it's about accountability and how airlines respond to reports of in-flight sexual assault.
"American Airlines has been aware for years that sexual assaults on overnight flights are becoming more and more prevalent," said Sarah M. Raisch, a senior attorney with Romanucci & Blandin. "Yet they allowed Cherian Abraham to become a serial predator under their watch and on their airplanes, and when our brave client reported her terrifying experience, they brushed her off and blamed her for their utter indifference to her safety. When will corporations finally believe women? What needs to happen for corporations to finally take women's safety seriously?"
Morgan says her decision to speak out is rooted in a desire to protect other passengers.
"It is hard to describe how traumatizing it is to have a stranger touch you like that – on a crowded plane, in a confined space, with nowhere to go. I felt exposed and yet completely invisible. I felt paralyzed. When the flight landed and I reported what happened, I hoped American Airlines would step in and, at the very least, tell me they would do better to protect other women. Instead, I was met with cold responses and blame, as if I had done something wrong. That sense of shame has stayed with me. I'm sharing my story because I don't want other women to feel as alone or dismissed as I did. I'm sharing my story because it is time that corporations do better so my daughter, our daughters don't have to be assaulted."
The other side
We've reached out to American Airlines for comment and have not yet heard back.
The Source
The information in this article was provided by Chicago-based law firm Romanucci & Blandin, LLC.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
21 minutes ago
Election conspiracy theorist sticks by false 2020 claims in defamation trial
DENVER -- One of the nation's most prominent election conspiracy theorists, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, stuck by his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen while testifying Monday during a defamation trial over statements he made about a former official for a leading voting equipment company. Taking the stand for the first time during the trial, Lindell denied making any statements he knew to be false about Eric Coomer, the former product strategy and security director for Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems. Among other things, Lindell accused Coomer of being 'a part of the biggest crime this world has ever seen." Lindell also distanced himself from a story told by a conservative podcaster who accused Coomer of helping to rig the 2020 election. It was discussed during a 2021 symposium Lindell hosted to discuss election fraud. Lindell said he did not know about the story before it was discussed onstage at the event and only learned about it during the trial. Coomer said his career and life have been destroyed by statements Lindell made about him and allowed to be promoted through his online media platform, Frankspeech. During sometimes rambling testimony in federal court in Denver, Lindell painted himself as the victim of 'lawfare' — when people are sued to scare them into silence. Several conservative news organizations, including Fox News, Newsmax and One America News, have settled defamation lawsuits from voting machine companies over allegations that they promoted falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election. In 2021, Newsmax also apologized to Coomer for airing false allegations against him. Nevertheless, Lindell said he hoped his trial would lead people to look at what happened in the election and get rid of electronic voting machines, which have been targeted in a web of conspiracy theories. Reviews, recounts and audits in the battleground states where Trump contested his 2020 loss all affirmed Democrat Joe Biden's victory. Trump's own attorney general at the time said there was no evidence of widespread fraud, and Trump and his allies lost dozens of court cases seeking to overturn the result. Lindell said he never accused Coomer of rigging the election, but he testified that Coomer's claims led Newsmax to block him from being able to go on air to talk about voting machines. 'You're part of the biggest coverup of the biggest crime the world has ever seen,' he said to the Coomer lawyer questioning him, Charles Cain. Lindell said he used to be worth about $60 million before he started speaking out about the 2020 election, and now he has nothing and is $10 million in debt. 'I believe what you did to me and MyPillow was criminal,' he said to Cain during questioning. Both Cain and U.S. District Judge Nina Wang had to remind Lindell several times to listen to the questions and only provide the answers to them, rather than head off on tangents. During the trial, Coomer's attorneys have tried to show how their client's life was devastated by the series of conspiracy theories about him. Lindell was comparatively late to seize on Coomer, not mentioning him until February 2021, well after his name had been circulated by other Trump partisans. Coomer said the conspiracy theories cost him his job, his mental health and the life he'd built and said Lindell's statements were the most distressing of all. He specifically pointed to a statement on May 9, 2021, when Lindell described what he believed Coomer had done as 'treason.' Asked by his attorney what he wants out of the trial, Coomer said he would like an apology, compensation and 'a chance of rehabilitating my public image.' Lindell's attorneys argued that Coomer's reputation was already in tatters by the time Lindell mentioned him — partly because of Coomer's own Facebook posts disparaging Trump, which the former Dominion employee acknowledged were 'hyperbolic' and had been a mistake. 'Your reputation was shattered long before Mr. Lindell said a word about you,' Chris Katchouroff said to Coomer. Katchouroff noted that Lindell also is known for making hyperbolic statements and that what he said about Coomer was simply the result of his sincere concern over vote-rigging in the 2020 presidential election — a claim for which there is no evidence.
26 minutes ago
Spirit Airlines plane passenger calls in fake bomb threat after missing flight: Officials
A Michigan man has been arrested after missing his flight to Los Angeles and calling in a fake bomb threat after being made to book another flight, officials said. The incident took place last Thursday at approximately 6:25 a.m. at Detroit Metropolitan Airport when an individual, later identified as 23-year-old John Charles Robinson of Monore, Michigan, 'used a cell phone to call into Spirit Airlines and conveyed false information about a bomb threat to Flight 2145 departing from Detroit Metro bound for Los Angeles,' according to a statement from United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. from the Eastern District of Michigan United States Attorney's Office. 'During the call, Robinson stated in part, 'I was calling about 2145… because I have information about that flight,' and 'there's gonna be someone who's gonna try to blow up the airport,' and 'there's gonna be someone that's gonna try to blow up that flight, 2145,'' according to the affidavit. 'After giving a description of an individual, he then stated: 'they're going to be carrying a bomb through the TSA,' and 'they're still threatening to do it, they're still attempted to do it, they said it's not going to be able to be detected. Please don't let that flight board.'' The flight was immediately canceled, officials said and the flight's passengers and crew were deplaned for safety precautions. 'Bomb sniffing dogs and FBI agents were deployed to sweep the airplane, officials said. 'No bomb or explosives were found.' Federal agents investigating the bomb threat soon learned that Robinson was booked on Flight 2145 but missed the flight and was told at the gate that he needed to rebook. 'FBI agents subsequently arrested Robinson when he returned to the airport to depart on another flight bound for Los Angeles,' officials said. After taking Robinson into custody, authorities played back the phone call that was made for him. "Robinson listened to the above-mentioned recording and confirmed he was the one that made the recorded phone call to Spirit Airlines," officials said. "Robinson also stated that the phone number that called the bomb threat in to Spirit Airlines was his phone number (and had been for approximately 6 years), that the target cellular device was his device, and he gave written consent for a search of his device." Robinson was subsequently charged with two charges. The first being use of a cellphone to threaten/maliciously convey false information concerning an attempt or alleged attempt to damage/destroy an airplane by means of an explosive and the second being false information and hoaxes. 'No American wants to hear the words 'bomb' and 'airplane' in the same sentence. Making this kind of threat undermines our collective sense of security and wastes valuable law enforcement resources,' said U.S. Attorney Gorgon. 'Anyone who threatens to bomb an aircraft and endanger public safety will be swiftly investigated and brought to justice,' said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. 'The alleged bomb threat prompted a coordinated response by our FBI Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force, in partnership with the Wayne County Airport Authority Police Department and the U.S. Federal Air Marshal Service, leading to the arrest of John Robinson as he attempted to board another flight at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. We remain committed to protecting the public and confronting those who seek to spread fear in our communities.' Robinson appeared in federal court in Detroit on Friday afternoon and was released on a $10,00 bond, according to court documents. His next court appearance will be June 27 for a preliminary examination.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Chicago crime: Teen carjacked 66-year-old woman at gunpoint, police say
CHICAGO - An 18-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with the armed carjacking of a 66-year-old woman on Chicago's South Side. What we know Keshawn Gilmore was charged with vehicular hijacking with a firearm, aggravated fleeing from police, aggravated unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, unlawful transportation of a stolen vehicle, and resisting or obstructing a police officer, according to the Chicago Police Department. He was arrested on Sunday evening in the 3300 block of South Kedzie Avenue by the Citywide Robbery Task Force. Police identified him as the suspect who allegedly participated in taking a car at gunpoint from the woman in the 600 block of West 63rd Street in Englewood. Gilmore was arrested and charged. What we don't know It was unclear how many others were involved in the alleged carjacking. What's next He is expected to appear in court for a detention hearing on Wednesday.
