On Memorial Day, a 46-year-old woman was arrested at a Florida airport for allegedly beating a child after the boy called her “fat” and repeatedly stated she “could not fit in her seat” on the plane.
Kristy L. Crampton was arrested on Monday and charged with one count of cruelty to a child by abuse without causing great bodily harm, according to records.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the incident occurred on a flight departing from Orlando-Sanford International Airport and bound for Maryland.
Prior to takeoff, Crampton and several others were voluntarily removed from the flight due to a disturbance, and law enforcement was called.
Officers from Sanford Airport Police responded to the scene and made contact with Crampton outside the gate.
In an interview with police, Crampton stated that the victim had been “very rude and disrespectful during their trip to Disney,” and that this behavior continued on the flight.
She claimed that during the argument, he “began calling her ‘fat’ and ‘Miss Piggy.'” That’s when she decided to take away his phone, which made him angry.
“He pushed her arm off of the armrest twice before she responded by smacking him.”
The victim told police that he was upset about his phone being stolen and that he called Crampton “fat” and “pushed her arm off of the armrest because she was taking up too much space.”
“That’s when she smacked him in the face,” the affidavit states.
Two passengers on the flight also gave statements to police. The first witness reported seeing Crampton “hitting [the victim] with her fist and then a water bottle.”
“He then said that she’slammed’ his head into the airplane window,” according to the complaint. “He claimed in his statement that [the boy] did nothing wrong and did not hit [redacted].”
He only used his arms to cover his face. [The witness] wrote in his statement that the ‘woman was not correcting the child, she was abusing him, whipping the s— out of him.'”
The second witness stated that she observed the boy calling Crampton “fat” and “saying that she could not fit in her seat.”
“He repeated that statement for about two minutes until [redacted] responded by saying she hates him,” according to a police officer. “The [victim] continued to be disrespectful until the [redacted] started hitting him in the head with a water bottle. She then slammed his head against the window.
According to the statements, police concluded that Crampton’s actions “went beyond typical disciplinary actions” and included “multiple strikes to the head as well as pushing [the victim’s] head into the window.”
Crampton appeared in court Tuesday and was granted a $10,000 bond, according to records. After posting bond, she is prohibited from contacting the victim.
Authorities did not share Crampton’s relationship with the child.
