EEOC sues United over nude photos

The federal government has sued United Airlines in San Antonio alleging the company failed to take action to protect a female flight attendant from a pilot who had posted nude photos and videos of her on the internet.

Chicago-based United Airlines discriminated against the flight attendant, identified as Jane Doe, by subjecting her to a sexually hostile work environment, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges in its lawsuit filed Thursday in San Antonio federal court.

“We have reviewed the allegations in the complaint and disagree with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s description of the situation,” United spokesman Charles Hobart said in an email. “United does not tolerate sexual harassment in the workplace and will vigorously defend against this case.”

The pilot, Mark Joseph Uhlenbrock, pleaded guilty in June 2016 in San Antonio federal court to a stalking charge and was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.

The flight attendant dated Uhlenbrock for about five years beginning in 2002 and allowed him to take nude photos and videos of her, according to court documents in his criminal case. He also took a video of her sunbathing nude without her permission, documents said. He later posted them to the internet, the EEOC says.