Trial set to begin in US for man accused of slapping crying toddler on flight

ATLANTA – A man accused of slapping a crying toddler on a jet is set to go on trial this week.

Joe Rickey Hundley faces a misdemeanour simple assault charge in the February incident. His trial is scheduled to start Thursday in federal court in Atlanta.

Authorities say Hundley used a racial slur to refer to the 19-month-old boy and then hit him under the right eye as the flight from Minneapolis began its descent to the Atlanta airport.

Hundley, who has pleaded not guilty, faces up to a year in prison if convicted. His lawyers say Hundley’s son was in a coma in Atlanta, and he was flying there to decide whether to take him off life support.

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