ORLANDO, Fla. — A registered sex offender is accused of groping a teenager on a Spirit Airlines flight from Indianapolis to Orlando.
According to the criminal complaint filed in federal court, Orlando police were dispatched to Orlando International Airport right after a Spirit Airlines flight landed on July 29.
Court documents say a 17-year-old girl said the man sitting next to her on the plane, identified as John Daniel Fowler, would place his hand over her seat and she would move his hand away.
She told police she later fell asleep in her seat and woke up to Fowler’s hand under her blanket as he touched her inappropriately.
The teen says she “screamed until she caught the attention of a flight attendant who immediately relocated her to the front of the aircraft and relocated Fowler to the rear of the aircraft.”
Fowler denied the allegations, saying he was reaching for the teen’s thermos when he accidentally touched her leg.
Fowler is listed on the Indiana sex offender registry following a conviction for sexual battery in 2023. In that case, he was also accused of inappropriately touching a child while she was sleeping.
The affidavit says before the flight took off from Indianapolis, Fowler got in an argument at the gate over being charged $100 for the size of his luggage. The filing states he responded by “blurting out that he hoped the plane would crash.“
After he apologized, he was allowed to board the aircraft.
Spirit Airlines didn’t answer WFTV’s questions on why he was still allowed to board after this incident, but released a statement saying in part, “Safety is our top priority, and we have zero tolerance for the behavior as alleged.”
Spirit Airlines says Fowler is not allowed on its flights anymore.
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