Former CHP Captain Sexually Abused Flight Attendants: DOJ

LOS ANGELES, CA — A former California Highway Patrol captain is facing charges for slapping one flight attendant on the buttocks and exposing himself on a flight to Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Dennis Wally Woodbury, 49, of Azusa, is charged with one count of felony abusive sexual contact within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. He faces up to two years in jail if convicted.

According to prosecutors, Woodbury was a passenger on a JetBlue Airways flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Los Angeles International Airport on April 13, and he began harassing the flight crew before the flight left the gate.

"For example, Woodbury showed one of the flight attendants a photograph of a dog. The picture contained pornographic imagery in the background," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. "Woodbury later told one of the flight attendants that he should go on a cruise with him then made a crude hand gesture.

"Just after meal service and while the plane was still in the air, the second flight attendant collected passengers’ meal trays and walked past Woodbury. Woodbury, who had been drinking heavily, then used his left hand to slap the victim’s buttocks," prosecutors alleged. "Woodbury then yelled that he loved him."

It got worse as the flight continued, according to court filings. Prosecutors allege Woodbury left his seat and went tO the front of the plane and "pulled down his trousers and underwear, exposing his genitalia."

When a flight attendant told him his behavior was inappropriate, he asked for wine and did it again, prosecutors allege.

During later interviews with investigators, the flight attendants confirmed that neither of them consented to Woodbury’s behavior, according to the indictment.

Woodbury is free on $50,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on May 12 in downtown Los Angeles