JetBlue pilot, 33, arrested on child sex charge moments before flight from Boston took off for Paris
A JetBlue pilot was arrested on child sex charge moments before a flight took off.
A JetBlue pilot was arrested while preparing for a flight from Boston’s Logan International Airport to Paris on Thursday (20 February) after officials found an active warrant for his arrest in North Carolina. Jeremy Gudorf, 33, of Ohio was arrested on the plane on Thursday evening by Massachusetts State Police.
After U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted a “standard review” of the flight’s manifest, they discovered a warrant “lodged against a member of the flight crew who was detained,” a state police spokesperson told NBC News. Gudorf was arraigned in East Boston District Court Friday, reports NBC Boston and WCVB.
Prosecutors said the North Carolina warrant was on a charge of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. He was also charged in Massachusetts as a fugitive from justice, per NBC Boston.
Prosecutors asked for Gudorf to be held without bail and to surrender his passport. Gudorf’s defense attorney, Tanvi Verma, said, per WCVB: “He does have the financial capacity to rent a car and drive to North Carolina. He has assured me he will do that.” His attorney also told the court he had no prior criminal history, per NBC Boston.
While the judge did not take Gudorf’s passport, he was ordered to be held on $10,000 bail. He was also ordered to return to North Carolina by Feb. 25. A court date in Massachusetts is scheduled for March 19, however, that will be waived if he clears the warrant.
The Huntersville Police Department said in a statement Friday that it received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in October 2024. After an investigation, they obtained a search warrant for Google "leading to the identification of the source of the reported images," police said.
JetBlue said in a statement to multiple outlets that Gudorf was placed on “indefinite leave.” A statement from the airline read: "We are aware of and closely reviewing the arrest of one of our pilots upon reporting for work at Boston’s Logan Airport Thursday evening due to an outstanding warrant. The pilot has been placed on indefinite leave as law enforcement proceeds with the matter."