Two JetBlue pilots are accused of drugging three female crew members during a layover in Puerto Rico last year, after which one allegedly raped two of the women.
Pilots Eric Johnson and Dan Watson allegedly drugged the three unidentified flight attendants, and Johnson allegedly raped two of them, after a night of drinking during a one-night layover in May 2018, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to a lawsuit filed by two of the women earlier this week. The three women, who also work for JetBlue, say they reported the assaults to the airline, but “no corrective action was ever taken,” the lawsuit states.
Now, two of the women, identified only as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, are suing in New York federal court for an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.
JetBlue told HuffPost the airline cannot comment on pending litigation but issued a general statement.
“JetBlue takes allegations of violent or inappropriate behavior very seriously and investigates such claims thoroughly,” a spokesperson said on Thursday. “We work to create a respectful workplace for all our crew members where they feel welcome and safe.”
According to the lawsuit, the three women met Johnson and Watson on the beach where they spent the night relaxing and drinking. At one point, Johnson allegedly handed an open beer to the three women to share, and “the rest of the night became a blur,” according to the suit. The suit claims that the beer “was laced with a drug” that left the three women incapacitated and unable to consent to any sexual contact.
One of the women, Doe 1, said her next memory was lying on a bed while Johnson raped her and the other crew member, who is not part of the suit. Doe 1 “was unable to react to the situation” because of the drugs, but she was “aware that it was happening,” the suit said.
“[Her] flashes of memory included Johnson having sexual intercourse with the other crew member who was also under the influence of the drugs,” according to the suit.
After allegedly raping Doe 1 and the other crew member, the suit claims that Johnson said: “Thank you for making my fantasy come true.”
The third crew member, Doe 2, alleges in the lawsuit that Watson and Johnson drugged her with “the intent of sexually assaulting and raping her,” but did not because she began vomiting, which was “a turnoff,” the suit states.
Both Doe 1 and Doe 2 feel “extremely humiliated, degraded, victimized, embarrassed and emotionally distressed,” according to the lawsuit. Doe 1 also said Johnson intentionally gave her the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease.
“I would just say this was truly horrific, and we’re really appalled with way Jet Blue failed to take any corrective action,” the women’s attorney Abe Melamed told the New York Daily News.
“We are hopeful that the courage of these women in bringing forth their claims will shed some light on the overall airline culture and inspire other women across the country to come forward.”