ATLANTA, Georgia--An Idaho man accused of slapping a crying toddler on a plane has pleaded not guilty to an assault charge.
Joe Rickey Hundley appeared in federal court on Wednesday in Atlanta.
The mother of a 19-month-old boy alleges in court documents that her son was crying on a Delta flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta last month when Hundley called the boy a racial slur and slapped him.
Hundley's attorney denies her client struck the boy but says he regrets his words and was grieving over the declining health of his now deceased son.
Hundley is charged with assaulting a minor.
