A family from Berkeley County has initiated legal action against Delta Air Lines, accusing one of its employees of stealing an iPad left behind on a connecting flight departing from Charleston. They allege that the stolen device was then used to capture explicit images.
The lawsuit, submitted to the U.S. District Court of South Carolina on June 16, claims the iPad was taken by the employee after the family exited the aircraft at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
Traveling together with their young children on a connecting Delta flight on July 19, 2023, the family mentions that one of their children carried an iPad, which was protected by a pink ‘Peppa Pig’ case.
When the family landed at their destination in London, they realized the iPad had been left on the initial flight from Charleston after the mother started receiving random text messages about the device, according to the lawsuit.
She tracked the device using the “Find My” app and discovered it was in Queens, New York. The person with the iPad had logged out of her account, but photos were still being uploaded to her iCloud account.
Initially, the pictures were just selfies of the man in his Delta uniform, with his name badge visible. The family filed a “lost and found” report with the airline on July 20, 2023, according to the documents.
A few months later, on August 27, 2023, pornographic videos showed up on her iCloud, taken by the Delta employee while he was in uniform.
The family filed a second report that same day. In addition to taking more explicit videos, the employee also created their own iTunes and Amazon profiles on the family’s accounts.
The mother was made aware of the new Amazon profile titled “Gay” after her child saw it and told her, she claims.
At the time of publication, the family has still not received any response from the major airline except for the standard “no-reply” email responses to the filed reports.
“What should have been a fun family getaway was riddled with confusion and anxiety over unauthorized access to their personal devices, a breach of privacy, and the transmission of highly inappropriate, explicit video recordings sent through their child’s personal devices, something they never would have expected,” said Motley Rice Attorney Tola Familoni who represents the family.
“And this was made worse due to the lack of response from Delta. Motley Rice seeks to hold Delta accountable for this, and we hope this lawsuit can help stop anything like this happening to any other families who fly with Delta — or any other airline in the future,” Familoni added.
The family is suing Delta and Delta-owned Unifi Aviation for negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual assault, and harassment.
Attorneys representing the family allege that Delta failed to protect their safety, and the company’s actions, or lack thereof, caused the family pain and suffering.
In response, the family is demanding a jury trial and requesting the court award damages.
News 2 reached out to Delta for a response and has not yet received a reply. The airline has not responded to the summons in court filings either.
