World

Pittsburgh woman says she was sexually assaulted on United Airlines flight to Chicago

By
CNN

Published: 

A Pittsburgh woman says she was sexually assaulted by a man sitting next to her on a United Airlines flight to Chicago. (KDKA via CNN Newsource)

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Pittsburgh woman says she was sexually assaulted by a man sitting next to her on a United Airlines flight to Chicago last month.

She said she reported the incident to the flight crew and was told police would meet the plane when it landed. But weeks later, she says she’s still looking for answers about what happened and whether the man is facing any consequences.

On Sept. 22, Leah Melley was on a United Airlines flight from Pittsburgh to Chicago for work when the man sitting next to her allegedly began acting inappropriately.

“I started to feel him on the side of my leg, and then moving to my inner thigh,” she said. “At one point, I looked at him and I realized at that point he was exposed and touching himself.”

Melley says she briefly froze when she realized what was happening, but then woke up the woman in the end seat, climbed out and went to the back of the plane for help from the flight attendants.

Melley says the flight attendants took care of her, got her to another seat and informed her that law enforcement would meet the plane at O’Hare International Airport when they landed.

Statements from Melley, the flight attendants and the woman on the end of her row were all given to police and the FBI in Chicago, but she says she hasn’t heard anything from anyone since then. In a statement to KDKA, United Airlines said that law enforcement did in fact meet the plane that day and that an investigation is underway. It also said, “We take this issue seriously and this customer was moved to a different seat after reporting the incident to the flight crew. We also spoke with the customer and apologized for her experience.”

Melley says that United’s words are cold comfort and that this man could still be out there, potentially lying in wait with her information from her business cards that she says he could have easily taken out of her work bag once she left her seat.

“If they could say to me, ‘Leah, we can’t tell you his name, but he lives in Chicago and he’s in jail,’” she said. “OK, great. I may get to sleep a full night. But that hasn’t been the case.”

KDKA reached out to the Chicago Police Department, which referred us to the FBI Field Office in Chicago. The FBI said U.S. Department of Justice policy prevents them from commenting on the nature of any investigation that may or may not be happening.

By Christopher DeRose

If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma in Canada, the following resources are available to support people in crisis: