SEATTLE — An Alaska man was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for sexually abusing a 17-year-old while on a flight to Seattle last year.
According to court files, the teen was flying with her mother and a friend on an overnight flight from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seattle on Jan. 15, 2025. The teen was sitting in a row with 29-year-old Trayton Ballot.
Ballot was in the middle seat, and the victim was in the window seat. Their row was near the back of the plane.
Ballot appeared to be asleep, but then moved his hand onto the victim’s inner thigh and started rubbing it. The victim, who was actually asleep, woke up to the intrusion and moved Ballot’s hand.
Two more times, he put his hand on the 17-year-old’s thigh, and twice more she removed it. The teen then lowered her tray and wedged a stuffed animal under it to protect her lap.
Despite that barrier, Ballot moved his hand under the armrest and still tried to touch her thigh. The victim pressed down on the stuffed animal to get him to stop, court records said.
The teen then typed what was happening into her phone and showed her phone to her mom, who was sitting behind her.
At her mother’s instruction, the teen notified flight attendants, who moved her to a different seat.
Ballot was arrested when the plane landed in Seattle.
Speaking in court during Ballot’s sentencing, the victim said she was “trapped in a small place where I could not defend myself… It was predatory – attacking me while I was asleep.”
Ballot was sentenced to a year and a half in prison. He must also complete 10 years of supervised release.
“Sexual assaults on airplanes are a distressingly prevalent risk of modern airline travel… In several ways, a plane is a uniquely vulnerable environment: passengers are often seated in close proximity to strangers, with little room and few options for removing themselves from unwanted situations; passengers regularly attempt to sleep on planes while sitting next to unknown persons; and outside of a passenger’s immediate neighbors, there is limited visibility and a low likelihood of witnesses, particularly when cabin lights are dimmed," prosecutors said during sentencing.