A California mother who was allegedly observed by fellow passengers abusing her young son on a flight was arrested after landing in Seattle, Washington.
A judge on Monday, May 6 ordered Breanna R. Mistler, 33, be detained pending trial after she was arrested May 1 on a misdemeanor charge of assault in a special aircraft jurisdiction, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington.
According to the criminal complaint, Mistler was flying on the Delta Air Lines flight 1922 from Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, to Seattle with her 2-year-old child on May 1. While on board, "multiple passengers" saw Mistler abuse the child, and attempted to intervene.
One passenger reported that the toddler, who was in the window seat, woke up Mistler, who was sleeping in the aisle seat, and she turned and allegedly kicked the child in response. Another witness reported seeing Mistler allegedly shake the child "like a rag doll."
"Despite interventions from passengers, Mistler allegedly persisted in the abuse," prosecutors said.
Customs and Border Protection officers detained Mistler at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, and reported seeing multiple bruises on the child's eye, cheek, shoulder and forearm. The investigation was turned over to Port of Seattle Police and the FBI.
Child Protective Services is working to place the child with a relative.
Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida on Monday ordered Mistler to be detained at the Federal Detention Center at Sea-Tac, saying that he was concerned about the safety of the child “because (Mistler) had committed the assaults in front of so many people on a lengthy plane trip.”
The next hearing in the case was scheduled for May 16.
—TMX contributed to this report.