08 August, 2017
It was reported that she could read the messages as they were in large font on a large-screen smart phone.
San Jose police Sgt. Brian Spears, who oversees the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children task force, has hailed the female passenger as a "hero", and made a personal visit to her over the weekend.
A San Jose police detective met Kellar when the flight landed, and Kellar agreed to an interview and to give investigators his phone.
Kellar was booked into California's Santa Clara County Jail on two counts of attempted child molestation and two counts of solicitation of a sex crime.
It's unclear if she committed the crimes before or after meeting 56-year-old Michael Kellar on Match.com.
Kellar texted "Do you really think you can do this or are you just saying this?" Authorities contacted their counterparts in Seattle, who along with some Federal Bureau of Investigation agents tracked down a woman's home in Tacoma where the recipient of the texts lived.
There was "information that the woman had access to the children either as a caregiver or a babysitter", Seattle police said.
A sharp-eyed airline passenger spotted another passenger texting about sexually assaulting children, leading officers in California and Washington state to arrest two people and find two young victims, authorities said Thursday.
"The detective obtained search warrants for the Tacoma home and the residence of the male suspect", Seattle police said.
The police confirmed that the case was more than disturbing texts.
Kellar and 50-year-old Gail Lynn Burnworth - the person he allegedly was texting - are charged with conspiring to make child pornography.
It appears two children, ages 5 and 7, were sexually assaulted, investigators said. They're described joking about drugging the children in preparation for sexual abuse.
She was booked Monday into the Pierce County jail in Washington for sexual exploitation of a minor, first-degree rape of a child and dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, San Jose police said. However, she was no longer listed as in custody on the county corrections website on Friday.
"No I think I can do it if I don't have parents over my shoulder or anxious about who's going to walk in on me", Burnworth responded, according to charging papers. However, later on Friday, FBI agents arrested Burnworth again on a federal warrant for conspiracy to produce child pornography.
Burnworth's initial appearance is set for Monday in federal district court in Tacoma, FBI and Justice Department officials told CNN. Jourdenais noted the case was a powerful example of how vigilance can take various forms.
If you see something, say something. 'She said, 'Hold on, ' and told me I was going to talk with somebody'. "It should be acknowledged".
US attorneys charged Kellar on Friday with attempting to entice a minor into sexual activity. The two children are now safe, said the San Jose police.