One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting 15-Year-Old Girl On Delta Flight
Delta Air Lines plane (Photo by Simon Clancy via the Creative Commons on Flickr)
A 66-year-old man was arrested after a 15-year-old girl accused him of sexually assaulting her while they were on a flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City on Tuesday.
When Hans Loudermilk boarded the Delta Air Lines flight, he asked the teenager (who is referred to as "KD" in an FBI affidavit) if she could move from the aisle to the middle seat of the row, according to The Smoking Gun. She did what he asked and while they were having a normal conversation on the 90-minute flight, it turned sexual about 25 minutes before they landed.
"Loudermilk explained to KD that he could teach her things sexually that boys her age could not," according to the affidavit. "Loudermilk continued to state that she should drive with him and that in the State of Utah he could marry her at her current age."
He then touched her chin and rubbed her leg and upper thigh, KD told authorities. She got "extremely nervous" and when their plane landed, she immediately told a TSA agent that she was sexually assaulted.
When Loudermilk saw KD talking to authorities, he went into a gift shop in the terminal and then removed the tan-colored shirt he was wearing on the plane and changed it to a black jacket. An FBI agent believed Loudermilk did this "to possibly avoid detection by law enforcement."
Loudermilk was charged with two felony counts of sexual abuse of a minor on an aircraft. The Smoking Gun reported he is being held without bail and faces a preliminary hearing on April 10 in the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City. (While the FBI affidavit describes Loudermilk as 67 years old, The Smoking Gun reported him as 66.)
According to his Facebook page, Loudermilk checked into the Delta Sky Club before boarding. And he also wrote the following post:
Sponsored message
It's Planes, Trains and Automobiles folks. In a lifetime of traveling I don't think I've ever covered as much ground of such diversity and using as many modes of transport as what I'm attempting today. Provided I make it to the church on time, of course. I'll keep you posted.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
