Delta airlines employee stole an iPad left on plane by child and used it to upload explicit videos of himself, suit claims
A South Carolina couple filed a federal lawsuit against Delta Air Lines after discovering sexually explicit videos on their child’s lost iPad that were allegedly recorded by an airline worker.
Tory and Brooke Brewer came across the graphic content that had been saved in the family’s iCloud account, according to the lawsuit filed July 16 in the U.S. District Court in Charleston.
According to the lawsuit, the family took a Delta flight from Charleston to New York City’s John F. Kennedy international airport on July 19, 2023, before connecting to a flight to London.
After they had arrived in London, they realized they had left behind their child’s iPad with a Peppa Pig case on the plane, in the seat pocket.
The child’s mother then began receiving random messages about the missing device so she used the “Find My” app, and tracked the iPad to Queens/Jamaica, New York.
Although her Apple ID had been logged out, photos continued to sync to the iCloud account, which included selfies of a man wearing a Delta uniform and a visible name badge. His name was not revealed in the lawsuit.
On July 20, 2023, the family filed a lost item report with Delta. Between the time of the first report and August 27, the Brewers never received a response from the airline worker.
Then on August 27, pornographic videos began appearing in Brewer’s iCloud account. The videos allegedly show the same man from the selfies masturbating while still wearing his Delta uniform and name badge.
“What should have been a fun family getaway was riddled with confusion and anxiety over unauthorized access to their personal devices, a breach of privacy, and the transmission of highly inappropriate, explicit video recordings sent through their child’s personal devices – something they never would have expected,” the family’s attorney, Tola Familoni, said in the lawsuit.
The Brewers learned that the man had used the iPad to access Brooke Brewer’s iTunes account and create his own personal profile.
He also managed to get into the Brewers’ Amazon account and created a profile titled “Gay” that one of the couple’s young children discovered and alerted them to.
In the lawsuit, the Brewers say they are seeking damages and accountability, claiming Delta failed to respond meaningfully to their concerns before the suit was filed. They accuse Delta of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, harassment, and other claims stemming from the incident.
A statement from Delta said: “The accused individual is not a Delta employee but one of a vendor company” that it did not identify. Delta said in its statement that the airline has “zero tolerance for unlawful behavior of any kind but will decline to comment further on this pending litigation.”
A second report was filed with Delta, according to the lawsuit. The family says Delta failed to acknowledge the first report and responded to the second with an automated, “no reply” email.
“We would have hoped, if not publicly, at least personally they would have acknowledged their role and responsibility for what happened to this family,” Familoni told The Guardian.
“We hope that Delta will step up and take responsibility, speak to the family, and acknowledge their wrongdoing.”
