New Jersey Man Sentenced to Prison for Sexually Assaulting Woman Seated Next to Him on Philadelphia-Bound Flight

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Vernon Baker, 41, of Linden, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 25 months' imprisonment and one year of supervised release by United States District Judge Anita B. Brody for sexually assaulting the woman seated next to him on a flight into Philadelphia.

The defendant was charged by indictment in January of last year with one count of abusive sexual contact on an aircraft and pleaded guilty in December.

As detailed in court filings, on October 30, 2024, aboard a commercial flight from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, Baker made sexual advances toward the female passenger sitting next to him.

After the victim refused his advances, Baker took out his penis and forcibly tried to get the victim to touch him. He then grabbed her breast over her clothing and untied her pants. Traumatized and shaken, the victim rushed to the back of the cabin where she reported this assault to flight attendants.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Federal Air Marshal Service, and the Philadelphia Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Josh Davison and Special Assistant United States Attorney Meagan Gordon.