The family of a 14-year old girl who found an iPhone taped to the back of a toilet seat on an American Airlines flight is speaking out about the incident, and they believe an airline crew member attempted to record their daughter.
The girl was flying from Charlotte, NC to Boston on September 2 when she was told by a male crew member to use the first-class bathroom where he had just been. He told the girl that the toilet seat was broken but she could still use it.
Her family said in a statement that he went back into the bathroom after she left.
After using the toilet, the girl noticed the iPhone taped to the toilet seat, adhered with a sticker that read, "seat broken."
The girl took a picture of it with her own phone before exiting the restroom and showing her family.
The family wrote:
“These events have left our daughter — and entire family — shocked and profoundly disturbed."
The family told KHOU 11 that the mother immediately went back to check for the phone, but it was already gone.
You can hear more below.
Family claims attendant on flight taped phone to toilet seat to record teen girlyoutu.be
People learning of the story were appalled over the incident.
Disgusting! \ud83e\udd2c\n\nAP - Family says 14-year-old daughter discovered iPhone taped to back of toilet seat on American Airlines flight to Boston\nhttps://t.co/VqpBV4tO4H— Lola Gayle (@Lola Gayle) 1695117434
Wtf\u2026— Maized&Confused (@Maized&Confused) 1695156208
@NBCNews WTF— John Stofko (@John Stofko) 1695155935
@NBCNews Horrible— Marysia Davidson (@Marysia Davidson) 1695152665
@NBCNews How is this even real ?— OSD (@OSD) 1695131763
@NBCNews Disgusting! What is wrong with people . Not okay— Elizabeth Parks (@Elizabeth Parks) 1695131235
@mortgageconsult I'll go with creepy, as in a real creep is behind it.— Keith Schleiffer (70s remix) (@Keith Schleiffer (70s remix)) 1695142546
@htTweets Sick MFs!— Tulip Management (@Tulip Management) 1694667685
@ABC7 As a father this so repulsive. I am so sorry you have to go through that.— Professor Nez (@Professor Nez) 1695173595
@ABC7 Wow! He is a predator?! Seriously?! Working for an airlines?! Wow! Fire him, and that girl is possible going to need therapy. SMH. I agree with her parents. It\u2019s sickening! They way her father said, the man\u2019s face turned white, he wasn\u2019t expecting her to show parents. #\ud83d\ude21— JayyO (@JayyO) 1695165835
Disgusting & sickening!— spicy nice \ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\u2728 (@spicy nice \ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\u2728) 1695158390
this is disgusting— \u263e (@\u263e) 1695161123
The girl's father told KHOU 11:
"There are a lot of things we worry about when we travel now, but one of them is not that your child is going to be exploited and targeted for the procurement of child pornography."
The family has not filed a lawsuit yet, but according to Yahoo!News, law enforcement officers escorted a male flight attendant off the flight when it landed.
In a statement, American Airlines claimed they “take this matter very seriously and are fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation, as safety and security are our highest priorities.”