Mother found guilty in airport pat-down case

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Associated Press

Story Created: Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:51 PM

Story Updated: Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:56 PM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A woman has been found guilty of disorderly conduct for berating security officers trying to pat down her teenage daughter and then refusing to submit to the procedure herself at a Nashville airport.
    
It took jurors about four hours Tuesday to convict 42-year-old Andrea Abbott of Clarksville, Tenn. She faces up to 30 days in jail and a $50 fine.
    
Transportation Security Administration Officer Karen King testified that before the pat-down, Abbott yelled in her face that she didn't want anyone "touching her daughter's crotch."
    
Abbott eventually allowed her then-14-year-old daughter to undergo the pat-down, but then she refused one for herself and was arrested.
    
Abbott took the stand during the trial and acknowledged that she did say a few curse words but that she had a normal conversation about why she believed the pat-down was inappropriate.

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