ATLANTA — A federal judge on Monday sentenced a man who pleaded guilty to slapping a crying toddler on an Atlanta-bound flight to serve eight months in federal prison.
Joe Rickey Hundley was accused of using a racial slur to refer to the 19-month-old boy, who's black, and hitting him under the eye as the flight from Minneapolis descended to the Atlanta airport last February. He pleaded guilty in October to simple assault after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of six months in prison, and Hundley reserved his right to argue for a lower sentence. U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman said he imposed a higher sentence in part because of Hundley's criminal history, which includes a prior assault.
Hundley's lawyer, Marcia Shein, objected to the deviation from the recommendation in the plea agreement and said after the hearing that she believes the sentence is disproportionate.
Before he was sentenced, Hundley told the judge he took full responsibility for his actions and turned to apologize in person to Jessica Bennett, the toddler's mother, who was in the courtroom.
Hundley, who lived in Idaho at the time, was on a Delta flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta on Feb. 8 and was seated in a window seat next to Bennett, who was sitting in the aisle seat and had her 19-month-old son on her lap, according to court filings.
As the plane descended into Atlanta, the child started crying. Hundley leaned over to Bennett and "told her to shut that (N-word) baby up," according to a sworn statement from an FBI agent who investigated the incident. Bennett asked Hundley what he had said, and he leaned in with his face next to hers and said it again, prosecutors have said.
Hundley then slapped the child's face, leaving a scratch below his right eye, the FBI agent's statement says.