A 31-year-old Kansas man was arrested at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport this morning following allegations of abusive sexual contact on a Delta Airlines flight from Kona, Hawaii. Dominic Cortez Nichols was detained upon arrival after a 27-year-old female passenger reported the incident to flight crew.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim found Nichols in her assigned window seat during boarding. Nichols then moved to the middle seat, requiring the victim to climb over him to reach her seat. Later in the overnight flight, as the victim attempted to sleep with her hands between her thighs, Nichols allegedly reached his hand between hers to touch her inner thigh and groin area.
The victim immediately pressed the flight attendant call button and was moved to a different seat. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd announced the arrest. Abusive sexual contact aboard an aircraft is punishable by up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Port of Seattle Police Department, with Assistant United States Attorney Amanda McDowell prosecuting. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington, has charged 13 defendants with similar offenses in recent years. Nichols is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.