Taylor Swift fan sues Delta Air Lines after being sexually assaulted by former airline mechanic on flight home from concert
A Taylor Swift fan is suing Delta Air Lines after she was sexually assaulted by one of the company’s mechanics on a flight after attending one of the mega-star’s concerts.
Former Delta mechanic Duane Brick, 53, pleaded guilty March 5 to abusive sexual contact, admitting that he had taken the hand of the sleeping woman sitting next to him and placed it on his crotch during the 2023 flight.
He then “reached under the woman’s shirt and touched her breast. He admits he did it for his sexual gratification,” the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said in a statement.
“After the victim woke up and realized she was being sexually assaulted, Mr. Brick went to the restroom. He was visibly intoxicated and left behind empty airline alcohol bottles,” the woman’s attorney Mark Lindquist said in a press release.
The aviation lawyer has filed a lawsuit in King County, Washington, against Delta and Brick, alleging gross negligence, assault and battery against his client.
“As a common carrier, Delta owes the highest duty of care and has a legal duty to provide airline passengers, including the Plaintiff, with a safe flight that is free from unauthorized and abusive sexual contact from other passengers, including from Delta’s own employees,” the lawsuit states.
Lindquist also accused the airline of overserving alcohol to Brick, failing to adequately train staff on how to prevent and address sexual assaults, and of not properly monitoring the cabin to protest passengers.
The unidentified victim was returning home from a Taylor Swift concert in Phoenix, Arizona, when Brick, who is in his 50s, sat next to her.
She reportedly smelled alcohol on his breath before she fell asleep and he violated her.
Both the victim and a witness reported the sexual assault to flight attendants, but Brick was still allowed to return to his seat next to the woman, Lindquist said.
After about 15 minutes, the cabin crew finally moved the sicko to another seat.
“Everyone should feel safe to fall asleep on a plane without the risk of being groped and sexually assaulted,” the attorney said in a statement.
“Airlines can and should do more to stop these gross violations,” he added.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
Delta did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Post.
In a statement to Newsweek, an airline rep said that “while Delta will decline to comment on pending litigation, Delta has zero tolerance for unlawful conduct and will work with law enforcement entities to that end.”
Brick is no longer a Delta employee, the spokesperson added to the outlet.
Delta faces another lawsuit by the family of a 13-year-old girl who also was sexually assaulted during a flight.
California passenger Brian Patrick Durning was arrested at Orlando International Airport in June 2022 after allegedly penetrating the girl with his finger and trying to grab the breast of a female passenger who tried to intervene.
Durning was charged with abusive sexual contact with a child and committing a crime while aboard a flight.
He was convicted last year of assault of a minor on an aircraft and two counts of simple assault and sentenced to five years behind bars, HuffPost reported.
The Altadena man was acquitted of the more serious charge of abusive sexual contact.
