A federal indictment against a man accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl on a Delta Air Lines (DL) flight has been thrown out, not because of what happened in the cabin, but because of what happened in the courtroom.
According to Paddle Your Own Kanoo, Judge Victoria Marie Calvert of the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissed the case against defendant C. Morales on July 17, ending a prosecution that had been set to go before a jury just five days later. The ruling turned entirely on the government’s failure to get its own witness to court — it left the underlying allegations untouched.
What Happened Aboard Flight DL1831
The case centered on Delta flight DL1831, which flew from Guatemala City (GUA) to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) on August 27, 2025. Morales was seated toward the back of the aircraft next to an eight-year-old girl.
Court filings describe a pattern: Morales allegedly steered the child’s attention to the seatback screen, then touched her over her clothing before moving his hand inside her pants. The girl asked to use the restroom to get away from her seat, then told a flight attendant what had happened. Crew relocated her for the remainder of the flight and had police waiting when the plane landed in Atlanta.
Morales was indicted the following month, in September 2025, on a single count tied to engaging or attempting to engage in a sexual act with a child under 12. He entered a not guilty plea in October, and the case was headed toward jury selection on July 22, 2026.
A Trial Ready to Start, Then Suddenly Not
Both sides told the court earlier in July that they were prepared to proceed. That changed when prosecutors discovered the girl was out of the country on vacation in Guatemala and would not be back before the trial date. They asked Judge Calvert for a two-month delay.
She refused. Instead, the judge gave the government a direct instruction: subpoena the child and cover the cost of bringing her back to the US in time to testify.
Where the Government Fell Short
What followed, according to Calvert’s July 16 order, was a subpoena that never got issued. Prosecutors reported that the girl’s mother thought her daughter could testify over the phone, but no formal subpoena went out and no travel arrangements were made, despite the court’s explicit directive.
Calvert’s order was blunt about what that meant: the failure to subpoena the child reflected a lack of diligence on the government’s part. She also flagged that prosecutors seemed to have lost touch with the mother along the way, and never gave the court a reason why they couldn’t help get the child home from Guatemala.
The Outcome
The dismissal followed the next day. Calvert was explicit that she was ruling on the government’s noncompliance with her instructions, not on the strength or truth of the allegations against Morales. With the indictment gone, the July 22 trial date is off the calendar.