A comedian has broken her silence over claims she was sexually assaulted during a long haul flight, but was only offered a $500 Qantas voucher when she raised the alarm.
The Australian woman, who Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to name, was on the QF2 Sydney flight from Europe last September when she said her ordeal unfolded.
Months later, she says she is still suffering PTSD from the incident, but said the airline had merely tried to placate her with the $500 flight voucher.
Details of the allegations were revealed in a social media post by the woman who also named the alleged perpetrator.
Australian Federal Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that a 29-year-old Queensland man was charged with indecent exposure in December over the incident.
But the alleged victim said police had kept her in the dark about the case.
The comedian was flying home via Singapore when she boarded a Qantas Airbus aircraft and was seated near the man.
The incident allegedly occurred around midnight according to the Court Attendance Notice seen by Daily Mail Australia.
A comedian has broken her silence over claims she was sexually assaulted during a long haul flight, but was offered only a $500 Qantas voucher when she raised the alarm
The Australian woman, who Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to name, was on the QF2 Sydney flight from Europe last September when she said her ordeal unfolded
But she said when she complained to flight crew, they simply moved her ‘five rows behind him’.
She added: ‘I could still see him and I had to use the bathroom at the back of the plane to avoid him.’
Qantas flight attendants told her ‘three times’ police would take him off the plane when it landed, but ‘he just walked straight off and they had no idea about any of it’.
The airline later told the comedian that the flight crew had consulted the captain en route, and requested police be present on landing.
‘They moved you away from the customer concerned,’ Qantas told her in an email two months later, she revealed.
‘They seated you next to a female passenger to ensure your comfort and placed you in an aisle seat so the crew could continue to monitor the situation.
‘Our customer service manager addressed the matter with the customer, and spoke to other customers in the vicinity when the customer denied the allegation.
‘Our staff are not able to conduct criminal investigations and had no authority to detain this customer. The police were present upon arrival.’
The email added: ‘I acknowledge you don’t agree that the response form the crew was appropriate.
‘In recognition of your disappointment, and purely as a gesture of goodwill, I have arranged for a $500 travel voucher to be sent to you.’
The comedian said she’d also had to email the AFP four times before being told he was charged.
‘Knock knock anyone home?’ she posted on Instagram. ‘He in prison? Or fined? Or even a bit … sad?
‘How’s his PTSD? Just got my anti-depressant (which has since doubled) and my diazepam (panic attacks still happening and nightmares) – just wondering if I still have to pay for that?’
Part of the letter the comedian received from Qantas which she found an inadequate resonse given her PTSD from the alleged incident
She then named the Qantas manager she dealt with on the flight, who, she said, told her: ‘It’s his word against yours.’
She asked how that person was and ‘if he’d like to listen to her troubles of nightmares and lack of self esteem’.
‘Has he been able to go back to work?’ she asked.
‘How nice for him. Qantas do you think the $500 voucher you gave me and no refund is equal to being sexually assaulted?
‘Would I get $600 if I’d filmed it?’
The performer said that she had been forced to cancel upcoming shows of her stand-up comedy act, because she was struggling with her mental health.
‘The amount of stories I have learnt about SA on flights from friends of mine since this happened is INSANE,’ she wrote.
The man was arrested after landing in Sydney and charged in December. He faces up to 12 months in jail and/or a maximum fine of $6,600.
The comedian said when she complained she was moved her ‘five rows behind him. I could still see him and I had to use the bathroom at the back of the plane to avoid him’ (stock image)
The comedian’s posts won sympathy online, with one woman revealing she suffered a similar ordeal and it her took several months to get a response.
‘Through victim services, you are entitled to 22 hours of free counselling and potentially a recognition payment with a police report,’ she added.
Qantas told Daily Mail Australia the airline had followed procedure in dealing with the incident.
‘In this instance, our crew took all possible steps to assist onboard including escalating the complaint to the captain during the flight, relocating the passenger on the aircraft and supporting her throughout the flight,’ it said in a statement.
‘Our crew contacted the Australian Federal Police (AFP) while airborne and requested the AFP meet the aircraft on arrival, which they did.’
It added: ‘Qantas takes complaints about alleged inappropriate behaviour extremely seriously and undertakes a rigorous review and investigation process of all serious allegations and incidents.’
