Assault on a toddler

Atlanta

Assault on a toddler: An Idaho man was charged this week with federal assault for allegedly slapping a crying 2-year-old and calling him a racial slur on a flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta. Joe Rickey Hundley, 60, an executive with AGC Aerospace & Defense, was seated on the flight next to Jessica Bennett, 33, of Minnesota, and her adopted son Jonah.

Bennett told investigators that Hundley seemed drunk and was openly hostile, so she took her toddler to the back of the plane for most of the flight. As the plane began its descent into Atlanta, officials said, Bennett and her child returned to their seats, and Jonah began crying because the altitude change hurt his ears. Hundley allegedly told the boy’s mother to “shut that [N-word] baby up,” before slapping the child in the face with an open hand. After Hundley’s arrest, AGC announced that he “was no longer employed” by the company.