A man on an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon, to Anchorage, Alaska, has been arrested on sexual assault charges after he allegedly nuzzled his face into his female seatmate’s breasts, pinning her against the window as she desperately attempted to fight him off.
Timothy Hobson, 44, remains in custody at the Anchorage Correctional Complex ahead of his first appearance in court on Thursday, where he will face a felony charge of abusive sexual contact.
According to an affidavit filed in an Alaska district court, the alleged assault took place on February 22 aboard Alaska Airlines flight AS-733 from Portland International Airport to Anchorage.
The unnamed female victim told FBI investigators that she immediately had an ‘uneasy’ feeling about Hobson the instant he sat beside her on the late-night flight to Alaska’s largest city.
Even before the Boeing 737 took off, Hobson allegedly started to act strangely and ‘creepy,’ turning his entire body sideways in his seat to face the victim and smiling at the victim without saying a word.
The victim attempted to ignore Hobson, but after the plane had taken off, Hobson pretended to drop something on the floor, using this as an excuse to reach over the victim’s leg and lean across her.
Hobson’s behavior then progressively got worse. He spread his legs so that he was pushing against the victim’s body and started to repeatedly touch the victim’s leg despite her efforts to swat his hand away.
He then put his head on her shoulder, although the victim initially gave him the benefit of the doubt, thinking he might have nodded off. She pushed him away, but just minutes later, he lay his head on her again, but this time, much closer to her breasts.
The victim elbowed Hobson off her and pointed to the tray table in front of him, telling him that if he wanted to sleep, he should lie his head on the tray table and not on her.
Shortly after, Hobson leaned his entire upper body against the victim, pinning her against the window while nuzzling his head into her breasts. Unable to reach the call button herself because of Hudson pushing against her, the aisle-seat passenger noticed what was happening and waved down a flight attendant.
The victim later told investigators that Hudson appeared alert and smiled at work, indicating that he was well aware of what he was doing.
A witness told police that Hudson appeared to be under the influence of something, although they didn’t smell alcohol on his breath. A flight attendant quickly moved the victim to another seat away from Hudson, but he continued to act strangely, moaning and repeatedly grabbing the seats in front of him.
Hudson invoked his right to silence during an initial interview with the FBI and local police, but as investigating officers exited the room where he was being held, they overheard him mutter to himself: “I definitely drank way too much.”
Upon being booked into the Anchorage Correctional Complex, Hudson was administered a breathalyzer test, which returned a Breath Alcohol Content (BrAC) of 0.121. This would indicate a significant level of intoxication.
Some remote communities in Alaska impose strict alcohol controls, which can lead to residents drinking in excess ahead of their return to the state.
Hudson is due to appear in court on February 26.
