Lawsuit: Female JetBlue Crew Drugged, Raped By Pilots
Jackie Reddy March 22, 2019
A lawsuit has been brought against two JetBlue pilots who allegedly raped female crew members on May 9th, 2018 in Puerto Rico. The incident involved three female employees of the airline, who say that their beers were laced with a drug prior to the incident at a hotel in San Juan late last spring.
A lawsuit has been brought against two JetBlue pilots who are alleged to have raped female crew members last May in Puerto Rico, The New York Post reports. The incident involves flight officers Eric Johnson and Dan Watson and three female JetBlue employees.
According to the outlet, the female employees are named only Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2 and a third female employee. The first woman is reported to be from Riverton, Utah, while the second is from Fort Worth, Texas. The third female employee is said to have no fixed hometown.
The outlet reports that court papers indicate that the three women encountered Johnson and Watson on a beach in San Juan and had beers together after discovering that the men also worked for JetBlue.
An excerpt of the court suit, as quoted by the outlet, states that, “The beer was laced with a drug, and after that point, the rest of the night became a blur for [the women].” The women went to the pilots’ hotel accommodation where Jane Doe 1 and the third female employee say that they were raped by Johnson.
“Johnson was on top of [Jane Doe 1] raping her. [Jane Doe 1] felt the influence of the drug that [Johnson] laced the beer with, and was unable to react to the situation, but was simply aware that it was happening. [Her] flashes of memory included Johnson having sexual intercourse with the other crew member who was also under the influence of the drugs,” states the suit.
Jane Doe 1 also states that, as a result of the incident, she contracted HPV.
Jane Doe 2, who had become sick from the laced beer, was not raped by the men.
The women stated that they did report the rape to the airline, but that JetBlue took no action against Johnson or Watson. The female employees are individually seeking in excess of $75,000 in damages.
Lawyer Abraham Melamed, who represents the women, commented to the outlet, saying, “What happened to my clients is truly horrific, and Jet Blue’s failure to take appropriate action is appalling.”
JetBlue did not offer a direct comment on the case, but said that it will take “allegations of violent or inappropriate behavior very seriously and investigates such claims thoroughly.”
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I’m not sure why JetBlue would have a responsibility for something that happened off the clock - that both the victims and the accused work for the airline is coincidence in this case. Why was the incident reported to their employer rather than the police?
The article seems to indicate that it what happenstance that the two groups worked for Jet Blue. Jet Blue is not the legal authority and it seems that they were not working at the time. I would like to know what action the female crew wanted Jet Blue to take without first having legal action taken against the male pilots. There seems to be too much unnecessary information included while some pertinent information is left out. It seems people like to leave out due process these days. File criminal charges against them in a court of law. They were not on the job at the time. It also seems they were not even scheduled to work the same flights. Please include more pertinent information.