A 65-year-old registered sex offender is facing federal charges for allegedly groping a sleeping teenager on a Spirit Airlines flight.
Indiana resident, John Daniel Fowler, later claimed to police that he had merely been reaching down to help right the thermos of the 17-year-old girl in the next seat after it tipped over.
Fowler, who pleaded guilty to molesting his step-nephew’s girlfriend and is required to register with authorities until November 2033, began the journey with a dust-up at the gate “due to being charged $100 USD for the size of his luggage,” according to an FBI probable cause affidavit reviewed by The Independent.
“This incident was not received well by Fowler, who respond[ed] by blurting out that he hoped the plane would crash,” the affidavit states. “Fowler then apologized and was still allowed to board the aircraft destined to Orlando.”
Fowler is now persona non grata with the carrier, a Spirit Airlines spokesperson said Monday.
“Safety is our top priority, and we have zero tolerance for the behavior as alleged,” the spokesperson told The Independent. “The allegations are serious, and we will provide any necessary assistance to law enforcement in their investigation. Additionally, this individual is no longer welcome on any of our flights.”
Fowler does not yet have an attorney listed on the court docket, and was unable to be reached for comment.
On July 29, Fowler was on Spirit flight NK 1523 from Indianapolis to Orlando, assigned to an aisle seat, according to the affidavit. In the middle seat was a 17-year-old girl, identified in the affidavit as “Victim 1.” After takeoff, the affidavit says Victim 1 asked the person seated by the window if she could take a photograph of the view. Fowler then asked Victim 1 if she could send him the photo, and gave her his phone number, the affidavit goes on.
During the two-hour-plus flight, Fowler tried to make conversation with Victim 1, but she was not interested and shut him down, the affidavit says.
Several times, Victim 1 was forced to physically move Fowler’s hand, which kept creeping over to her seat, according to the affidavit.
As the plane approached Orlando, Victim 1 was asleep underneath a blanket, and had both feet up on her seat, the affidavit continues. Once the aircraft landed, but before the doors were opened, Victim 1 woke up to find Fowler’s hand under her blanket, rubbing her crotch, the affidavit states.
Victim 1 screamed until she got the attention of a flight attendant who immediately brought the teen to the front of the plane. Fowler, for his part, was taken to the rear of the aircraft. Once the plane had taxied to the gate, he was questioned by Orlando police, according to the affidavit.
“During the interview, Fowler claimed that he reached down to grab Victim 1’s thermos, which had fallen over… and when he came back up his arm touched her leg,” the affidavit states.
Fowler denied touching the girl’s private parts, and maintained he was “not on any medication or alcohol at the time,” the affidavit says.
Officers interviewed Victim 1 as well as the cabin crew at the same time. The FBI, along with a children’s forensic examiner, spoke with her on August 1.
Fowler was charged the same day with abusive sexual contact aboard an aircraft, which carries up to three years in federal prison; and a potential 10-year enhancement for having committed a new crime while a registered sex offender.
The affidavit concludes with a recap of Fowler’s November 2023 conviction, citing details from a probable cause affidavit that says he sexually assaulted a sleeping victim in her home.
Fowler, who the victim told police was “her boyfriend’s step-dad’s brother,” had been staying in the garage on an air mattress, the affidavit states. Her age is unclear.
State court records show Fowler was given a two-year suspended sentence, with credit for time served while awaiting trial, and was sentenced to probation. After an undisclosed violation in 2024, GPS location monitoring was added to Fowler’s probation terms.
In July, a Texas aerospace executive flying American Airlines from Boston to Washington, D.C. was arrested after allegedly masturbating openly while pawing at the passenger seated next to him. (The suspect told police he was “stretching his arms.”) In March, a 55-year-old man was banned permanently from American after his third accusation of mid-flight sexual misconduct. A month before, a traveler sued Alaska Airlines, claiming she had been sexually assaulted by an inebriated passenger.
Last year, the FBI issued an alert about sexual assault aboard commercial aircraft, a crime the bureau said was “on the rise.”
