CHARLOTTE — A man pleaded guilty to giving rum to a 14-year-old girl, who was sitting next to him on a flight before sexually abusing her on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to San Diego, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California.
Ryan Coffey, 33, of San Diego, pleaded guilty Monday to the charges that happened on Jan. 7, 2023. He was 31 at the time.
He admitted to giving the girl rum and touching her inner thigh and breasts. They didn’t know each other.
Coffey was indicted on March 15 for sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact stemming from what he did on that flight.
“Thanks to the courage of a brave girl who reported what happened in the dark on a plane, and swift engagement from law enforcement, this defendant was brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath in a news release. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting the public in the air, on the ground, or at sea.”
He faces a maximum of two years in prison.
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