A couple accused of having sex on a JetBlue flight from New York City to Florida have dodged criminal charges.
Trista L Reilly, 43, and Christopher D Arnold, 42, were arrested in July upon arrival at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport after allegedly engaging in sexual activity in front of minors on the plane.
They were each charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition, but those charges were dropped by Florida officials last week, according to The Mercury News.
No reason had been given for this in the court filings.
Reilly and Arnold, of Danbury, Connecticut, were aboard JetBlue Flight 163 when a mother alerted a flight attendant that Reilly was ‘making up and down movements with her head while she was facedown on Mr Arnold’s lap’ in front of her children.
The mother also accused Reilly of being fully aware the youngsters were watching, but kept doing the lewd act on her partner.
The duo were arrested upon landing and later released on their own recognizance. They pleaded not guilty in August.
‘This behavior is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated by JetBlue,’ the airline said in a statement to the Daily Mail at the time.
Trista L Reilly, 43, and Christopher D Arnold, 42, of Danbury, were arrested at a Florida airport in July after allegedly engaging in sexual activity in front of minors on a domestic flight
They were each charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition, but those charges were dropped by Florida officials last week
Both of them have been permanently banned from the airline.
Arnold owns a carpentry and home remodeling company. The couple appeared in Facebook photos together as far back as 2016.
Joining the Mile High Club does not always result in criminal charges.
Mandy Smith, who spent more than 12 years flying for Virgin Atlantic as a flight attendant, told LadBible that workers are aware when customers are engaging in things they should not be doing in the air.
‘It’s worse when you’ve got children on board and it’s in the daytime,’ she told the outlet.
Both of them have been banned from the airline permanently following the ordeal
Sometimes, especially on night shifts, they turn a blind eye to it; however, on flights during the day and with children on board, they are less likely to do so.
‘We can take those doors off, you know,’ she said of the lavatories. ‘Even though you’ve locked it, we can open them. And we can take the whole door.’
But she said most flight attendants will knock to avoid exposing passengers in front of everyone.
