A man who was accused of sexually assaulting his seatmate on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Anchorage last April has escaped a maximum potential jail sentence of 10 years behind bars after he was found guilty of interfering with flight crew.
Adam Seymour, 38, of Seattle, was sentenced late last year by an Alaska court to 12 months of home confinement, plus a requirement to engage in community service and a two-year term of supervision.
Court documents filed in the case described how Seymour drank hand sanitizer from a bottle, rubbed a female passenger’s thighs and patted her groin before lighting a cigarette and insinuating that everyone was going to die in a plane crash.
Seymour had initially appeared friendly during Alaska flight AS49 on April 5, 2023, but after downing two Jack Daniels and Coke, he began rubbing his seatmate’s lower thigh and knee while also trying to rest his head on her shoulder.
The victim attempted to ignore Seymour until he looked like he was about to light a cigarette, at which point she passed a note to the passengers sitting in the row ahead, who happened to be off-duty cops.
Flight attendants quickly moved the victim to another seat, but the ‘highly intoxicated’ Seymour switched his attention to another passenger, threatening to fight him.
The off-duty cops assisted flight attendants by restraining Seymour with flexicuffs and moving him to a jumpseat at the back of the plane. Seymour managed to escape the cuffs, and he had to be restrained again and then watched over for the rest of the flight.
Prosecutors had recommended a 12-month custodial sentence, but despite acknowledging a worrying trend in unruly passenger incidents, the district court in Alaska sentenced Seymour to a home confinement order.
“Engaging in violent, harassing or obscene behavior while on an aircraft is a federal crime and can result in serious penalties,” commented U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker following Seymour’s sentencing.
Tucker continued: “Potential perpetrators should think twice before engaging in similar conduct aboard an aircraft because we will prosecute these crimes.”
And how does one get out of flexi cuffs.? Just asking for a friend.