Michael Kellar: Man Charged With Texting About Sexually Abusing Children In Huge Font On Crowded Airplane

A man is in jail after being caught allegedly texting a woman about his plans to sexually abuse children in a huge font on a crowded airplane, where other passengers could see his texts.

As The San José Mercury News reports, a passenger on a Seattle-to-San-José flight noticed a fellow passenger texting. That wouldn’t have gotten anyone’s attention in any other circumstances. But the passenger was texting in a giant font that the other passenger could easily read. And Kellar was allegedly texting about his plans to sexually abuse children.

The unidentified passenger who witnessed this surreptitiously took a photo of the texts on her own smartphone, then quietly alerted the flight crew. The flight crew then alerted San José police and the FBI. When the plane landed, says Sgt. Brian Spears of the San José Internet Crimes Against Children task force, Kellar was apprehended.

Spears has nothing but praise for the passenger who noticed something amiss.

“Kudos to his young lady. She went a step further. Without us responding right away, [Kellar] would have been lost.”

SJPD detectives Nick Jourdenais and Michael O’Grady interviewed Kellar, who consented to a search of his phone. When confronted with the damning texts, Kellar allegedly responded that it was just fantasy and role-playing.

Kellar’s story didn’t hold up when police investigated further. Using forensics, cops were able to pinpoint the location of the recipient of Kellar’s texts to an address in Tacoma. After an investigation at the address, they determined that the woman who lived there and who was allegedly texting with Kellar had two children in her care. Those children, ages five and seven, were being sexually abused, cops say.

Police arrested 50-year-old Gail Burnworth on suspicion of felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, rape of a child, and dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Kellar, meanwhile, has been charged with two felony counts each of attempted child molestation and solicitation of a sex crime. He is currently being held without bail.

Journenais encourages anyone who sees something suspicious, in particular when it comes to possible crimes against children, to say something.

“An average person can help stop child exploitation.”

Anyone with any additional information about this alleged crime is encouraged to call the SJPD at 408-537-1397.

[Featured Image by San José Police Department]