FBI: Idaho man slaps crying boy on plane, charged with assault
ATLANTA (AP) — A 60-year-old Idaho man has been charged with simple assault for allegedly slapping a 2-year-old boy aboard an Atlanta-bound flight.
In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, FBI special agent Daron Cheney says Joe Rickey Hundley, of Hayden Idaho, slapped the 2-year-old boy during a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis on Feb. 8.
The child's mother, 33-year-old Jessica Bennett, of Minneapolis, told authorities the boy was crying as the plane prepared for landing. Bennett says Hundley was sitting next to her and slapped the boy in his face, causing a scratch under his right eye. She says Hundley used a racial epithet while demanding her to quiet the boy.
Hundley "told her to shut that ('N word') baby up," Cheney said in the affidavit. "Ms. Bennett received assistance from several people on the plane, including male passenger Todd Wooten." Cheney said.
Wooten was seated rows in front of Bennett and said he came to help after he heard derogatory language being used behind him, according to court documents. Bennett said the infant began crying louder after he was slapped.
District attorney officials say Hundley was not taken into custody, however he was charged with assault.
"We think that it is important to let the case develop, and we'll see how it all comes out," Hundley's attorney Marcia Shein said Friday.
On Sunday, Shein said that Hundley will plead not guilty.
KBOI 2 News learned that Hundley has been suspended from his job at Uni-tech Composites and Structures, pending the outcome of the investigation.
In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, FBI special agent Daron Cheney says Joe Rickey Hundley, of Hayden Idaho, slapped the 2-year-old boy during a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis on Feb. 8.
The child's mother, 33-year-old Jessica Bennett, of Minneapolis, told authorities the boy was crying as the plane prepared for landing. Bennett says Hundley was sitting next to her and slapped the boy in his face, causing a scratch under his right eye. She says Hundley used a racial epithet while demanding her to quiet the boy.
Hundley "told her to shut that ('N word') baby up," Cheney said in the affidavit. "Ms. Bennett received assistance from several people on the plane, including male passenger Todd Wooten." Cheney said.
Wooten was seated rows in front of Bennett and said he came to help after he heard derogatory language being used behind him, according to court documents. Bennett said the infant began crying louder after he was slapped.
District attorney officials say Hundley was not taken into custody, however he was charged with assault.
"We think that it is important to let the case develop, and we'll see how it all comes out," Hundley's attorney Marcia Shein said Friday.
On Sunday, Shein said that Hundley will plead not guilty.
KBOI 2 News learned that Hundley has been suspended from his job at Uni-tech Composites and Structures, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Hayden Lake, Idaho. Official headquarters of The Aryan Nations, one of the biggest, ugliest white supremacist group in the country. This man ought to be charged with a hate crime, but sadly, probably will not be.....
the man should get assult charges against him. who cares what he called the mother? the mother is over 18. Â i've read where some so called big shots would have run over there and just tore the guy up for using the n word. why? none of your buiseness. Â protect the baby. words embaress but you aren't the word cops. Â you'd get major areested for hitting the guy. Â i bet you are a guy who says stuff like some of my best friends are black and you only know a few from work and church.
@Howie J (and anyone else that dumb), IF Anyone in this story DESERVED to be called the N-word, it was the guy slappin the baby! Babies don't understand yet, even a toddler! And if he thought someone should be slapped, why a 2-year-old? Why not try and 'Tell a Mother how to care for her baby?' and if you don't die from that, go ahead and try to slap her ;) I'll be next in line to cut your junk off and flush it out the plane! BAM!
@Holly ItsaConspiracy Hansen No one "DESERVED" (or deserves) to be called the N-word. Period. It's disconcerting to see that trailer park denizens know how to steal Wi-Fi.
IF a retarded person or a deaf person is 'too loud', would you drop-kick them too? How about politely asking them to please try to be a "little quieter". Every time I've asked that, very politely, I got what I wanted and was able to relax during my travel.
ACT HUMAN (even if you're really not, as seen below)
So the plane was landing and they were going to be off the plane in a couple of minutes and he STILL felt the need to slap the child???
@Thoughtful One Sounds like!! Dumb, right??
*Blond, but I'll wear a blindfold to make you feel manlier
I wish I could find you right now...no weapon needed....my fists and legs are good (I'm a 6 foot tall blind with a kick you are likely to forget) from the TMI I cause (Don't worry, nobody would notice)
I am So white I am Pink..Boston Irish..And someone needs to tell his racist hick He is an embarrassment to us White folk with brain Cells. BTW MR.Racist..My daddy was as racist as could be usta Call Italians the N word.Ran with the Boston Iriah Mob.And guess what even he would  have Fd u up for hitting a child ..of any race. And Hitler would have gased your Hillbilly ass cuz it wasnt just about being white..He wanted a master race with high intellect..and you don't fit that agenda. Twisted SOB.
@ Howie J: So, do you think it's perfectly okay to assault a 'toddler' simply for crying near you?? (This question is also aimed at your 12 year old followers)....
I'm a 61 year old white Alaskan . How I wish I would've been siting on that plane , that hillbilly from Idaho would have needed an ambulance to haul his sorry  pieces to a landfill . Idaho does generate an unually high percentage of neanderthals .
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@Howie JÂ Let me know when you have kids (if you have actual testes)
wow!!! gotta say, for a stranger to put his hands on anyone, be it an infant, child, adult , etc.... without warrant is called assault. for a man to slap a child is called coward. I have a 10 year old son, I have to admit, I never enjoyed my son as a baby crying........ deal with it, the way i did,,,,,,, acceptable or not... i looked into his eyes and blew into those eyes..... believe me it worked. he is now 10 and i know i have some time to go but i firmly believe i gained his attention.. it startled him and he was startled with me in his face, I love u Elijah Daniel
A woman who worked for the Community College brought her children to Church. They didn't make any noise, or run around. Sat right behind me. She slapped them during the Sermon. Several women gasped. She was arrested after Church. That inability to cope was manifest because she was at the end of her rope I guess. THAT was her way of crying out for HELP for her mental state.
Why do they keep calling the child an infant?  He's a toddler. As far as a child's age goes, it's a HUGE difference. Regardless, there is absolutely no reason a stranger should put their hands on a child; not for any reason.  If it were my child, the other passengers would have to peel me off the old man's corpse.
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@Howie J @c b YOUR ICON SHOWS YOU ARE A COMPLETE IDIOT. YOU MUST NOT HAVE ANY KIDS IF YOU THINK ITS OK FOR A COMPLETE STRANGER TO SLAP THEM AROUND. HOW PATHETIC
@Howie JÂ @c b You abuse children and you are an idiot!
lucky he lived!
I dont care how much that baby cryed, no one has a right to slap, hit or abuse them in any way, add the fact that it was not his child, and using derogatory terms, that is just to much, I would slup the crap out of him for touching my baby
Ain't nobody got time for this!
Simple assault? WTF...that was an INNOCENT baby...this man should have been smack right back, glad I was not on that plane.. I would have not just sat there and watched...disgusting. And he seemed to believe that slapping this poor baby was going to stop him from crying...what a moron. First, as a Mom who flew from Michigan to Florida with her preemie daughter, I know that air pressure IS going to effect a baby as it does an adult just more so for the baby.
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Howie J. you are very stupid...freaking coward!
@Lightskin Scorpio hes just doing it to get attention.....take a look at his icon.....what a doofus
After reading a lot of the comments, I think I'll wait to hear more on this story before drawing conclusion to this man's action.
While I think he should be arrested and punished to the fullest extent if he actually hit the baby. I can't imagine him not being lynched before he left the plane, had he actually hit the baby.Â
Mama bears just don't tolerate their youngin's being abused. Unless this babies Mother has excessive self control, I can't imagine her not immediately retaliating had the baby been struck. I'm sure the Mother's out there understand what I'm saying!
@McIrish THATS RIGHT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN ME NO WAY IN HELL
Seems like people here don't like opinions that conflict with their own
@sandy no, they just don't like you.  that's all
"Man slaps baby". Baby cries more. Man slaps baby again... Baby decks man for being abusive!!!
@Mark You are VERY STUPID!
While I don't think that the man should have slapped the child, I can understand the frustration with an annoying crying child. I can recall many times when I would spend good money for seat on a flight and there would be a child screaming. The truth is, it isn't the child's fault. It's the parent's lack of discipline. In the U.S parents think their child are allowed to scream in public. On my flight to China, there were children on the flight but never heard one scream. Maybe airlines should put all of the kids and their proud obnoxious parents in a certain part of the plane so other people who don't have children won't get a headache listening to their children. It's isn't fair to the other paying customers. Children should be kept off of red eye flights and far away from business and first class.
@sandy You are an idiot. Ricky Joe needs to spend some time in the clink. See if he likes getting slapped.
@Mattheww No you are an idiot because you didn't read what I said. maybe someone needs to slap you.
@Howie J @Ray @sandy you just love the attention you get from saying this stupid stuff dont you'  PATHETIC TO SAY THE LEAST
@Ray @sandy  Ray, I firmly believe in slapping kids. I also believe in heavily sedating them with drugs for the right occasions. I am also a believer in racial slurs that disparage people and damage their self confidence. What's wrong, you don't slap your own children here and there? It's good for them. Try it sometime.
@sandy STFU!
@sandy There are arguments that can be made against unruly children, negligent parents, and intolerant strangers, but this sure as hell is not the story for it. Only a fool would think this man's behavior is anything but criminal and indefensible.
I never said I agreed with what he did but no one should have to put up with a screaming child either. I have been all over the world and it is only in the U.S that we think it is ok for child to scream. we are a sad society
@Howie J @Kevin Sanderson @sandy you havent been anywhere obviously
@sandy you cant prove your statement by any means
@Howie J @Kevin Sanderson @sandy MORON!
Then leave you MORON!
@sandy MORON if you don't like it here there's a plane, train,bus, hell start walking!
@Leasa Akin @sandy And then again, maybe she wasn't taking the kid to an ear doctor. By your own logic you are just as incorrect. No one knows WHAT was occurring. The point of discussion is more focused on the probabilities. and the FACT that most times it has nothing to do with the rare cases. The rare cases are there to allow one to be more objective and to consider other possibilities; however, as a human, it is only natural to express one's opinion and thoughts. Thus, one has to have some sort of opinion or the world is just mute. How else does a culture evolve. Seems like you are the one who is more myopic here.
@Kevin Sanderson @sandy Since when is running rampant the same things as allowing your baby to cry incessantly? Most crying is because the kid isn't getting what it wants. I don't see other cultures where their kids throw a hissy fit when they can't get what they want. Has nothing to do with running rampant and preventing that from happening. There is a time and place. It's call social grooming and etiquette. Take a class on it.
@sandy You're obviously a self indulgent jerk !...Do you honestly believe that others should cater to your needs ?..It's a PUBLIC FLIGHT !.....If the airline allows it, people could scream through the whole flight and you WOULD HAVE TO PUT UP WITH IT ! Maybe the mother was tasking her child, to see a doctor, for some ear problem, to begin with !
@sandy Well leave then if you don't like it children cry they can't talk and tell you whats wrong. when you was a baby you cried
@sandy You obviously have not been around the world. Only in the USA is it considered acceptable to control the children. Most of the world allows children to run rampant.Â
@sandyI disagree with what you're saying in this case regarding this particular parent's lack of parenting...... The child only cried when the plane was descending. During this time, many babies and toddlers cry bc their ears become very clogged and pain ensues. If I had no idea what was going on with my ears, I'd probably cry, too! Regarding bad parenting, one can more convincingly point the finger at that scumbag Hundley's parents for raising a stupid, racist, pathetic fool.
 @sandy you can understand the frustration of a crying child. THIS WHOLE STATEMENT MAKES NO SENSE! BABYS CRY, NO FRUSTRATION! WHATS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?
@Rose Jase
you are allowed to disagree but the truth is we don't know what really happened. And if parents are so worried about their poor children's ears then maybe they shouldn't take them on planes. Maybe they should take a train, drive, or not fly until the child can handle it.
@Howie J @sandy @Rose Jase MAYBE YOU SHOULD MOVE THERE SO YOU WILL FEEL BETTER
@sandy @Rose Jase right...its always the best to blame the victim....NOT
@Howie J @sandy @Rose Jase Again...VERY VERY STUPID!
@Ray @sandy Ray, if I were on that plane I would have done the same thing. Although, I am more of a believer in the back kick. That would have silenced the kid for once and for all. I probably would have b*i*tch slappled the mom, too. How about that? You like that Ray? I'd smack you, too.
@sandy @Rose Jase American kids have no discipline. China's kids are much more behaved.Â
@sandy forgive sandy, it is obvious she is mildly retarded...
You said that the child's ears were hurting. correct? then why should the entire plane hear a screaming child because the parents choose to take their child on a plane. unless an emergency, any parent with sense wouldn't take a kid that small on a plane anyway.
@sandy @Rose Jase Sandy, who said the mother was worried about her child's ears? The mother knows it's a temporary discomfort for the child, but the child does NOT know this and reacts. I'm not understanding your logic or direction in which you're trying to take this argument?Â