Man arrested for masturbating four times during one flight

A man who allegedly exposed himself and masturbated at least four times on a Southwest Airlines flight on Saturday is facing potential federal criminal charges for his behavior.

Antonio Sherrodd McGarity was aboard a three-hour flight from Seattle to Phoenix when a female passenger seated next to him says she witnessed McGarity masturbate on four occasions.

When she first noticed McGarity's incident exposure she began taking photos of him.

According to court documents obtained by The Daily Beast, McGarity asked the female passenger if she minded if he masturbated, to which she raised her hands in the air and said, "it really doesn't matter."

McGarity did so four times before falling asleep. After the man had fallen asleep the female passenger notified flight attendants who moved her away.

Upon landing at Sky Harbor International Airport, the man was arrested and interviewed by an FBI special agent.

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Court documents indicate McGarity did not think the female passenger was uncomfortable and found her response to his masturbating "kind of kinky".

A Southwest spokesperson told The Daily Beast McGarity is now banned for life from the airline.

“On April 2, we received reports of inappropriate Customer behavior on flight 3814 from SEA to PHX. The situation was reported to Crewmembers while inflight, and the Captain contacted law enforcement to meet the aircraft upon arrival,” the airline said. “We immediately placed the passenger on our No-Fly List, resulting in a lifetime ban from traveling on Southwest.”

McGarity could face charges related to lewd, indecent, or obscene acts.

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