Most people would prefer not to sit next to a crying baby at the movie theaters or on a flight. However, a man from Idaho went too far in response to a toddler who was crying on a Delta Airlines flight traveling from Minnesota to Georgia.
Joe Rickey Handley slapped and used a racial slur toward a 2-year-old boy aboard Flight 721. Reportedly, Handley became annoyed by the baby's cries as the flight began to ascend and he physically assaulted the child after telling the mother, 33-year-old Jessica Bennett, to "shut that [expletive] baby up."
According to court documents, Bennett says that Handley "slapped [the baby] in the face with an open hand which caused the juvenile victim to scream even louder." The Minneapolis mother also reported that the slap caused a scratch below her son's right eye and that fellow travelers stepped in to help her.
"After Joe Rickey Handley struck [the child], Ms. Bennett received assistance from several people on the plane, including male passenger Todd Wooten," court documents said.
Wooten said he heard Handley use derogatory language at the rear end of the aircraft and witnessed Handley slap the child.
The charge of simple assault on someone under age 16 carries a prison sentence of one year, court papers said, but Handley's legal representative, Atlanta Federal Criminal Defense Attorney Marcia Shein, said her client will be pleading not guilty.
Hundley has since been suspended from his job pending the investigation. The president and CEO of AGC Aerospace & Defense, Composites Group released the following statement: "We understand that authorities are investigating the recent behavior of one of our business unit executives while on personal travel. The allegations are disturbing and are contradictory to our values."
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