Woman says A.J. Baker groped her on flight, police say; Baker says he was asleep

A.J. Baker. John Blanding/Globe staff/Globe Staff

A "visibly shaken" woman told police that Andrew "A.J." Baker had groped her on a JetBlue flight and only stopped after she asked a flight attendant to move her seat, according to a police report detailing the assault allegations against Governor Charlie Baker's adult son.

Federal officials are now investigating the incident, which police say occurred about 45 minutes into the flight from Washington, D.C., to Boston on Wednesday night.

The 29-year-old woman told State Police that she was "touched inappropriately" by Baker, and that he had groped her right breast. One witness described seeing Baker, 24, "lean over" toward the woman "a couple of times," and another said she heard the woman tell Baker "don't do that . . . don't do that" before summoning the flight attendant to move her seat.

"[She] said she could see the female was visibly upset," according to a State Police report obtained by The Boston Globe.

Baker, who has not been charged, told police he was asleep the "whole time."

But a flight attendant reported speaking to him and told police that Baker said "it was OK because [the woman] was his sister's best friend." According to the report, Baker later appeared confused when the flight attendant told him he may need to speak to police once they landed, witnesses told police.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, according to the report.

There is nothing in the report that indicates Baker and the woman knew each other prior to the flight.

State and federal authorities have not commented publicly about the allegations against A.J. Baker. Police did not arrest him, and Governor Charlie Baker's office said US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling's office is reviewing the allegations. A spokeswoman for Lelling has said the office neither confirms or denies its investigations.

Baker told police that he was not on any medication and had two glasses of wine in Washington before his flight but hadn't finished the second glass, according to the report. The flight crew said he didn't have any alcohol on the plane.

When State Police escorted him from the plane at Logan International Airport and asked him for his license, Baker told a trooper "he did not know what was going on."

"I advised him that we were notified of an incident of inappropriate touching while in flight, to which Baker said, 'No, I was asleep the whole flight. . . . My feet were under the seat in front of me,' " according to a trooper's report. A trooper told him he was free to go, and asked him to leave the airport before the 29-year-old woman because she "was still very upset."

"Baker then again asked what was going to happen," the trooper wrote.

One of the witnesses quoted in the police report, who was contacted by the Globe, said the woman could be heard "explicitly and firmly telling him to stop" before standing up and a flight attendant responded.

The witness, who asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the situation, told the Globe that Baker appeared alert and was speaking with a flight attendant after the woman moved her seat.

The woman and the witness wrote down their accounts of what happened while on the flight, the report said. The flight's captain told police he considered diverting the flight to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport but decided against it because it would take the same amount of time to land in Boston.

Efforts by the Globe to reach the woman were not immediately successful. The Globe does not identify victims of possible sexual crimes.

Governor Baker's office directed inquiries to the US attorney's office, which is investigating the matter. Speaking after an unrelated event Tuesday, Baker said "the incident requires a fair and thorough review."

"This is a personal matter for the Baker family and A.J. will cooperate with any request from authorities," Lizzy Guyton, the governor's communications director, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Baker said Monday that state law enforcement will have no role in the investigation.

"Look, I love my son," the governor said Monday, "but obviously these allegations are serious and they require an independent review, which is why he will cooperate with the US attorney's office."

Roberto Braceras, A.J. Baker's attorney, did not immediately returns e-mails or calls seeking comment Tuesday.