Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Officials: TSA Agent Tricked LA Traveler Into Baring Herself
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
February 7, 2020

Share

SACRAMENTO — A federal Transportation Security Administration agent tricked a traveler into twice showing him her breasts as she went through security at one of the world’s busiest airports, California’s attorney said.

The woman said Johnathon Lomeli told her he had to make sure she still had nothing in her bra, requiring her to lift her shirt “to show me your full breasts.” 

Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Johnathon Lomeli, 22, was working at Los Angeles International Airport in June when he used fraud or deceit to falsely imprison the woman. Lomeli was arrested early Thursday at his home.

He first said he had to look inside her bra to make sure she wasn’t hiding anything, then had her hold her pants away from her waist so he could look inside, she told investigators.

He subsequently took her to what he said would be a private room for more security screening, according to an arrest affidavit. But once they were alone on an elevator, she said he told her he could do the screening right there.

The woman said Lomeli told her he had to make sure she still had nothing in her bra, requiring her to lift her shirt “to show me your full breasts.” He also again looked down her pants, she said, before telling her she was free to go and adding that she had nice breasts.

The TSA Called the Alleged Behavior ‘Unacceptable’

He was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail and was expected to make an initial appearance Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Officials with the union representing TSA employees, the American Federation of Government Employees, did not respond to requests for comment, and officials could not say if Lomeli has an attorney.

“There is no excuse for this kind of alleged behavior,” Becerra said in a statement.

The TSA initially brought the case to the FBI and Lomeli was let go from his airport job months ago, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

She said the initial complaint involved “improperly screening at least one woman in a private area of the airport.”

The TSA in a statement called the alleged behavior “unacceptable and an affront to the hardworking and committed members of our workforce.”

DON'T MISS

Pope Francis in Critical Condition After Long Respiratory Crisis

DON'T MISS

Musk Gives All Federal Workers 48 Hours to Explain What They Did Last Week

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Suspends 2 Players, Removes Another Amid Gambling Investigation

DON'T MISS

Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners, Citing ‘Degrading’ Hostage Handovers

DON'T MISS

Officer Killed After Gunman Took Hostages at Pennsylvania Hospital

DON'T MISS

Kash Patel Plans to Move Up to 1,500 Workers Out of Washington

DON'T MISS

Fired Employees Fear Beloved Yosemite National Park Will Lose Its Luster

DON'T MISS

US and Ukraine Nearing Rare Earths Deal That Would Tighten Relationship

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Two Other Military Officers

DON'T MISS

Less Is More: 5 Ingredient Dinners Are Easier Than You Think

UP NEXT

Bullard Teacher Arrested for Inappropriate Behavior With a Minor, Principal Says

UP NEXT

Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. Adults Identifies as LGBTQ+, Survey Finds

UP NEXT

Arctic Blast Causes Massive Pileups, Power Outages Across East Coast

UP NEXT

Struggling Forever 21 Plans to Close 200 Stores in Possible 2nd Bankruptcy

UP NEXT

2 People Are Dead in a Small Plane Collision at a Southern Arizona Airport

UP NEXT

Official White House Account Declares Trump ‘King’ in Latest Post

UP NEXT

A$AP Rocky Returns to a Life of Music, Fashion, Film and Rihanna With His Acquittal

UP NEXT

Leonard Peltier Released After Biden Commuted Sentence in FBI Agents’ Killings

UP NEXT

Death of South Korean Actor at 24 Sparks Discussion About Social Media

UP NEXT

Former Vice President Kamala Harris to Be Honored by NAACP With Its Chairman’s Award

Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners, Citing ‘Degrading’ Hostage Handovers

3 hours ago

Officer Killed After Gunman Took Hostages at Pennsylvania Hospital

3 hours ago

Kash Patel Plans to Move Up to 1,500 Workers Out of Washington

9 hours ago

Fired Employees Fear Beloved Yosemite National Park Will Lose Its Luster

9 hours ago

US and Ukraine Nearing Rare Earths Deal That Would Tighten Relationship

9 hours ago

Trump Fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Two Other Military Officers

9 hours ago

Less Is More: 5 Ingredient Dinners Are Easier Than You Think

9 hours ago

Trump-Putin Summit Preparations Are Underway, Russia Says

10 hours ago

Warren Buffett Offers Trump Some Advice While Celebrating Berkshire’s Success

10 hours ago

Hungarians Will Decide Whether Ukraine Can Join the European Union, Orbán Says

10 hours ago

Pope Francis in Critical Condition After Long Respiratory Crisis

ROME — Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis while being treated for pn...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

Pope Francis in Critical Condition After Long Respiratory Crisis

3 hours ago

Musk Gives All Federal Workers 48 Hours to Explain What They Did Last Week

3 hours ago

Fresno State Suspends 2 Players, Removes Another Amid Gambling Investigation

3 hours ago

Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners, Citing ‘Degrading’ Hostage Handovers

3 hours ago

Officer Killed After Gunman Took Hostages at Pennsylvania Hospital

9 hours ago

Kash Patel Plans to Move Up to 1,500 Workers Out of Washington

9 hours ago

Fired Employees Fear Beloved Yosemite National Park Will Lose Its Luster

9 hours ago

US and Ukraine Nearing Rare Earths Deal That Would Tighten Relationship

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend