Police say a 48-year-old drunk passenger exposed himself at a Florida airport gate, then urinated on a mom and her 7-year-old son

Airport gate areas are usually where travelers sit through delays and boarding calls with little more than a phone and a coffee. Deputies say a family waiting for a flight at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport instead watched a man seated across from them expose himself and urinate in their direction, according to Local 10.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office identified the man as 48-year-old Lawrence Kai Raben of Fort Lauderdale. According to a BSO arrest report, the incident happened shortly after 11:30 a.m. at Gate E6, where a family of three, including a seven-year-old boy, had been waiting for their flight. Raben was sitting directly across from the family at the time, the report said.

The family told deputies that Raben unbuttoned his pants and exposed himself, then “began urinating in their direction,” splashing the mother and her son, per the report. Deputies said he appeared to be drunk at the time, and one of the charges he now faces is disorderly intoxication. Other travelers nearby quickly moved away from the gate area as it happened.

Deputies say the other passengers scattered once the man allegedly started urinating

“Several other passengers were present in the immediate area at the time of the incident,” Deputy James Powell wrote in the arrest report. The deputy added that the surrounding passengers dispersed from the area as Raben allegedly exposed himself and began urinating. Published details of the report don’t say whether any airport staff stepped in before deputies arrived at the gate.

Raben was booked on charges of battery causing a person under 18 to have contact with bodily fluids, battery, disorderly intoxication, and three counts of indecent exposure. The first of those charges is tied to the seven-year-old boy, who was splashed along with his mother. Jail records showed he remained in the BSO Main Jail the following morning, with no bond listed.

What prompted the alleged behavior hasn’t been addressed in the report or by any party involved. However, it also isn’t clear whether Raben knew the family or had any interaction with them before the incident at the gate. Raben has not publicly commented on the charges, and it isn’t known whether he has an attorney who could speak for him.

Gate E6 sits inside the airport’s Terminal 3, according to a criminal complaint described in other coverage of the arrest. That coverage also reported that the count involving the child is a felony, while the battery, indecent exposure, and disorderly intoxication counts are misdemeanors. The felony count could carry the heaviest penalty, as it is the only one tied directly to the boy.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office handles law enforcement at the airport under a contract with the Broward County Aviation Department, which is why BSO deputies responded to the gate. However, published details don’t say whether the family was able to board their flight, or which airline they had been planning to fly with that day.

Indecent behavior around air travel has led to arrests before, including a case where an American Airlines passenger was arrested for indecent behavior in front of other travelers. The Fort Lauderdale case carries a heavier charge, as one count specifically involves a child coming into contact with bodily fluids.

Raben is expected to go before a Broward County judge, who could set bond and conditions in the case, possibly including restrictions on returning to the airport while the charges are pending.