Man says 14-year-old son was harassed by older woman on Southwest flight

Man says teen son was sexually harassed on flight

CHICAGO — A Chicago-area man is suing Southwest Airlines, saying its flight attendants failed to protect his 14-year-old son from an older female passenger who made sexual advances toward him and offered him illegal drugs during a flight to Florida.

According to the lawsuit filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, the incident occurred on a July 13, 2008 flight to Orlando.

Attorney Jeffrey Deutschman said the teenager repeatedly asked attendants to be assigned another seat, but they refused to allow him to move.

Deutschman said the boy was so frightened by the experience that he refused to return home by himself, so his father flew down to accompany him home.

A spokesman for Southwest Airlines Co. declined comment on the lawsuit.

The family is asking for more than $50,000 in damages.