The man accused of groping a 13-year-old girl on flight from Dallas to Portland last month was returning to Oregon after completing a residential treatment for alcohol dependency in Florida.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Edmonds revealed the information Thursday while arguing for Chad Camp to remain in jail as he awaits trial on a charge of abusive sexual contact. A witness told police Camp had at least four mixed drinks during a layover in Dallas.
Magistrate Judge Youlee You decided to keep Camp in jail, saying there's a correlation between substance abuse and a defendant failing to show for court, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
"When you're high and using, nothing else matters," she said. "What's particularly troubling in this case, right after intensive residential treatment program in another state, there's evidence Mr. Camp consumed a lot of alcohol, right after being released from that program."
Camp, 26, has been in jail since FBI agents arrested him following the June 16 flight. He has pleaded not guilty.
Authorities said a flight attendant noticed the man's hand in the victim's crotch area, and a tear running down the girl's cheek. The girl was flying as an unaccompanied minor, and her family has filed a $10 million lawsuit against American Airlines.
Camp's lawyer, Steven Lindsey, asked for his client to be released to an inpatient residential treatment program in southern Oregon. But the prosecutor said it's not in a secure facility, and there was no guarantee Camp would stay.
