I remember being an open, friendly, trusting and VERY green FA eager to please and do well at my job. I remember thinking pilots MUST be good people because they were in a position of such great responsibility. I remember not having the life-skills, wisdom, experience, and mental toughness (that can only come with age), and the ability to tell Sten Molin: “NO. I am NOT interested in you! Leave me alone!”
I remember not understanding at first how manipulative, coercive, and predatory FO Sten Molin’s behaviour was. He made me uncomfortable: late night emails, messing with scheduling so I would always be flying with him, creepy unwelcome ogling, impromptu massages, cuddles, and kisses (you’ve seen the real photo of Molin, he was physically repulsive). I didn’t want to upset or offend Molin by telling him how I really felt. I wanted to tell him to “get lost”, but I was far too polite and well mannered to do so. As women we are taught to be polite and to prioritise men’s feelings, not our own. Then society punishes us and calls us “ stupid” or “naive” and we are victim blamed if we are assaulted. Being young and naive is not our shame. Believing people are good and expecting the best of others is a reflection of our own goodness and not something we should be ashamed of. So when Sten Molin knocked on my hotel room door with an offer of alcohol he had “specially made just for me”, against my better instincts and judgement I let him in. After plying me with alcohol Molin raped me.
Shortly after my rape Molin was responsible for the second worst aviation disaster in American history. American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into Rockaway Queens shortly after takeoff killing Molin and 264 innocent people. In terms of human fatality, and removing plane disasters caused by factors other than pilot error, Molin was responsible for the worst plane crash in American aviation history, and the 5th worst plane crash in aviation history.
Molin had the gift of the gab. Ostensibly and superfically , he was friendly, happy, always with a quick smile and a joke. I have no doubt many of Molin’s friends still remember the happy, outgoing man with a zest for life. In Greenwich Molin maintained the carefully constructed facade of the good son and friend, a decent trustworthy guy always ready to lend a hand. With some pilots Molin was also the upstanding gentlemen who was friendly with everyone.
Molin however, wore masks. He lived many different lives in the many different parts of the world he travelled to. He let the mask drop only with “certain” people- those of us he considered beneath him. Cleaners, those from socially disadvantaged communities, maintenance workers, but most of all young flight attendants and underage girls he could groom and manipulate all saw who Molin really was. In an instant Molin could turn from “ good guy" to predator. It was a violent, jarring awakening, like a blow to your solar plexus that left you breathless. Your friend was gone, and Sten Molin, rapist and pedophile remained.
The real Molin was cunning and clever. He was a prolific liar and skilled at manipulation. He told elaborate carefully crafted lies to impress whomever was targeting. Victims were regaled with stories about his glory days as a fighter pilot, whose friend tragically died in a training accident. For some he was secretly working for NASA or a NORAD spy. For others Molin came from a hard scrabble background and worked tirelessly to fund Yale Medicine working as a bartender.
After the crash and news of Molin’s life made the media some of us who knew Molin in his American Airlines life were asking: “who was Molin? “ In the media there was no mention of Yale or NASA or military service. This was all puzzling and perplexing. Didn’t Molin go to Yale? Didn’t he graduate summa cum laude with a degree in Medicine?
Was Molin the youngest Yale scholarship holder? Was he the youngest pilot ever hired by American Airlines as his father often boasted in the news media shortly after the crash? Was Molin a fighter pilot? Was Molin ANY of these things? Much to our surprise it turned out Molin was very ordinary. He grew up in a modest home in Greenwich. He dropped out of a third-rate college before training to be a pilot at a “mom and pop” aviation school in Tennesse, now long since closed. He never graduated college. He obtained a bogus qualification from a Diploma mill. He wasn’t much of a commercial airline pilot either. He had a previous well-documented history of “wigging out” to minor upsets during flights. A Captain called him out for “gunning the rudder” in response to minor wake turbulence. He had gunned the engines and yanked back the yoke violently pitching up to escape another minor jet wash encounter. Were there more such incidents that were never uncovered during the N.T.S.B investigation into the crash? Given the “don’t snitch on your crew rule” very likely.
Molin’s victims( who have spoken directly to journalist Sara Hammel) remember reporting Molin’s predation to American Airlines. They remember being dismissed, ignored, their complaints of serious abuse trivialised. They remember being treated as expendable and replaceable. In the case of Flight 587 flight attendants were the canaries in the coal mine.
They reported that Molin was unstable, erratic, and unpredictable. They reported on layovers Molin plied young FAs with alcohol and gallantly escorted them back to their hotel rooms and only once behind a closed hotel room door lifted his mask and violently raped them. No one was listening and no one cared. A young FA doesn’t have a voice especially when challenging a male commercial airline pilot.
Molin chose his victims carefully. He had a type: small thin women he could easily overpower with his size and weight. There were rumors about Molin’s bizarre obsession with a very thin underage girl in a distant land. Molin cleverly groomed underage girls, some of whom still remain captivated by his superficial charm and prolific lies. Molin never served in the military. The records are conclusive.
Molin was tall and gangly, with a large nose, beady eyes and thin lips. He was wasn’t any young heterosexual female flight attendants’ dream of a dashing former military pilot, so he told lies to boost his image. He cultivated a mystique surrounding his childhood with tall tales of fleeing the Stasi, tunnelling under the Berlin Wall and heroic military service. He would brag and boast, some of the old line pilots would roll their eyes and chuckle, but us younger FAs believed him. From boarding to touchdown Molin would talk non-stop. A Captain called him “that motormouth”, others enjoyed his company and willingness to listen to their problems.
Molin would make unreasonable demands of FAs, whom he treated as his servants. We were to be at his beck and call. “Get me a coffee or this plane isn’t going anywhere”, Molin would demand. Molin LOVED coffee, and anything to give him an adrenaline boost. When he died the stimulant ephedrine was found in his system.
On layovers Molin would lounge by the pool or party with the FAs at bars or clubs, anywhere alcohol was freely available. Molin, however was a teetotaller. He rarely drank, but he would carefully watch the young FAs drink shot after shot, often actively encouraging it. He was happy to pay for drinks when us broke FAs ran out of money and our glasses were empty. Molin was flush with cash and he would keep the alcohol flowing, buying FAs fancy cocktails with ridiculous hypersexualized names like “sex on the beach” or “sweet poison” or “pop my cherry”. (Yes, three FAs recall this). We thought it was funny, but we didn’t know it came with a catch, and we didn’t know Molin’s true intentions.
Molin’s MO “modus operandi” was well honed. Crafty and intelligent Molin knew that assaulting women in the upper class enclave of Greenwich Connecticut would destroy his carefully constructed “good guy” facade. So he chose to assault young FAs in distant lands on layovers where help was away far and there in the middle of the night after drinks, Molin would accompany a lone flight attendant back to an empty dark hotel room. Once the door was firmly closed, Molin's friendly, courteous demeanor would disappear.
Molin’s “signature” was to overpower victims by using his upper body strength to push you down onto the bed. He would compress victims with his body weight almost like a small butterfly pinched to a spreading board. If you did not comply with Molin's sexual demands, Molin would not punch you or threaten you with physical violence. His approach was almost “gentle”. He would whisper “it’s ok, it’s ok” over and over into your ear, as if trying to soothe you or convince himself that this wasn’t a “real” assault. A real assault happens in a seedy, dark, alleyway. A rapist is a stranger in a trench coat holding a knife to your throat and threatening you with death. Surely a rapist isn’t the goofy, bespectacled nice guy who your senior First Officer!?
But we know now in the age of #MeToo that a rapist can be anyone. He or she can be a media executive, a successful Hollywood producer, a well-known rapper, he can be everyone’s favourite comedian, the goofy, amiable doctor of the US Women’s Gymnastics Team (Larry Nassar). Or in my case the ordinary, well regarded friendly American Airlines pilot. Successful predators are often ordinary men and women just like us, and this scares us because it means predators can be anyone and that also means anyone can be a victim.
Sten Molin raped me and many others. He also groomed and assaulted underage girls. I know this is painful to hear for many who considered Molin to be a dear friend. But it is the truth and victims have a right to speak the truth. Sara Hammel has spoken directly with MANY of Molin’s victims. We are real. This is not a smear campaign.
I never fully grasped the size differential that his victims faced. He was 5' 11," which to me is about average, but if he targeted children and petite women, he must have seemed huge. I would be fascinated to see footage from the wedding we went to. I remember us giving the standard congratulations to the newlyweds into the videographer's camera. I wore a low heel and was about his height. I just never thought it would end up like this. But looking back, I missed some signs, and when I investigated those further in 2022, I discovered disgusting behavior targeting people outside the airline industry. Those are not my stories to tell, but they are why I named him one year after writing a romanticized version of a nice-guy pilot who lost his life while valiantly trying to save a plane full of people. I believed his victims from day one, but I only named him myself when I had enough to know without a shadow of a doubt he was highly disturbed, drug-using predator whose enablers are as guilty as he is. P.S. URI is a good state school, a decent university...totally your call but you might say that after one year there, he couldn't hack it, and dropped out?
Well I am 161 cm or 5’2 and I also know Molin’s ex girlfriend (D—-M) who by all accounts was a very nice lady (so I won’t drag her into this) was also around that height. Molin had a type. Molin had a good 20cm on me, so yes he did seem HUGE to his victims. Imagine a man 20cm taller than you are and you get the idea.
From the details you mentioned here, expecting someone you don’t know and have just met to share a hotel room and bed with you is outrageous! Expecting that person to lie about “dating you” is also violating boundaries. And then expecting someone you barely know to spend a week with you in Belize in a hotel room is massively entitled. But that was Sten Molin for you. Americans are much more forward in their dating habits than British or Australians but even factoring that in I don’t know how Molin’s behaviour would be considered acceptable, sleazy, slimy at best…
No, URI is third-rate. I searched the QS rating and it ranks well below universities here in Australia like WSU, which is a college for those whose ATAR marks aren’t enough to get them into better schools like UNSW, which is one of our top universities (and my Alma Mater) ranked 19th in the world, below Harvard, Oxford etc but above Princeton and Yale. So Australia holds its own academically. URI really doesn’t rate. WSU has a ranking of 300 while URI is something like 600! Molin was a moron, this idea that he was intelligent is ridiculous.
I want to put my article on Medium to counter the pro Molin spamming and also to really help people understand that we aren’t all you. That’s a paranoid delusion spread by one very sad and unstable individual.
Just because it's not harvard doesn't make it third rate. You will be needlessly insulting people if you say that and the tone will be simply wrong. honestly it's different here. Google it. URI is a state school with many excellent qualities and alumni.
I just realized you mentioned your friend went to URI so you likely studied there as well. Look I sincerely apologize. I didn’t think before I wrote that. It was a stupid thing to say and upon further review I can see URI is an extremely well regarded university. QS ratings are highly subjective anyway. My intention was only to down Molin. Your point is correct. Molin dropped out because he couldn’t commit to full time rigorous academic study. I will actually focus on the fake Bachelor of Science he claimed he had from the diploma mill. Go to Wikipedia “Pacific Western University Hawaii”. I have updated the page to include Molin as being one of their fraudulent scholars. I doubt he would have been hired by American had they known at the time. Various high level officials and academics were forced to resign from lucrative careers because they were outed as holding degrees from PWU. It has about as much credibility as Trump University.
On another note: I just can’t get the writing style and tone correct. At the moment the presentation of it feels juvenile and a little over dramatic. If I dial it down the writing style becomes too dry. This is really not my forte. Karlene would get it right!
I want to convey to the reader that Molin was an ordinary guy however he also lead this other double life. I want people to grasp that seemingly ordinary average “happy amiable” people can also be predators. I want to include more assault details to be credible but I also don’t want the story to be salacious and I know perverts enjoy reading descriptions of assaults. Also Medium would ban the article. Apparently writing about eating or playing with poo is perfectly acceptable though. Fk that psycho.
Yes apparently that creep Stan had a type. My friend whom he raped is 5'3"... wow. That is very telling. It's much easier to manhandle a woman who is petite. Ugh, I'm even more disgusted now. My heart breaks for these women.
I've seen his pic. "Physically repulsive" is a good way to put it.
I knew about AA587 of course as it was big news. But I was so floored when I found out this was the creep who raped my friend!! She used to tell me about "that creepy pilot who keeps hitting on me".
It sickens me that this man had all these victims. I'm so sorry he killed hundreds of people. And I'm so sorry about what he did to you!!
WOW... I didn't realize until just now that you were one of his victims. My friend who was raped by him has told me so much of the same. She told me he said wanted to be a doctor but dropped out of med school after he suddenly realized he wanted to join the military to become a fighter pilot helping the US fight terrorism. That same thing you wrote about plying you with alcohol, and about being in a certain Asian country where he was hitting on every skinny little Asian girl he could find? She told me this too. And how one girl found my friend later and through broken English she figured out that he had indeed raped this girl. It's absolutely spooky to read what you wrote. And as I said earlier, she is 5'3" and barely a 100 lbs, probably more like 85 or 90lbs, so exactly his type.
She also said that she found him completely unattractive with a huge beak nose and nonexistent lips (and after I saw a pic of him, I had to concur... ICK!) She said he never stopped yapping and everything out of his mouth was likely bullshit. She may have been a young flight attendant but she's also someone with a good bullshit detector. She knew from the gate he was "kinda creepy" (her words). But like you said, one night after a flight; "Hey, let me buy you a drink...", you know. And 3 or 4 drinks is lot for her size, especially since she's never been a big drinker. She'll have a glass of champagne at a wedding, that kind of thing but she doesn't drink regularly. So she had no tolerance for alcohol.
This all verifies that my decision to believe her was the right thing. I new she had been raped by a pilot. But it wasn't until after he died that I found out it was this creep. Plus my friend is a very dignified woman; she would never make up something like this. Reading what you wrote above was like listening to her tell it all over again.
I know, Molin was full of shite. In what year did he attack your friend? Did she report the assault? To HR? To the union? Did she tell you what the response was? Does your friend still work for American? What’s the word on the street there about Molin? Has your friend spoken to Sara Hammel? Or has she just found this page recently? Sorry for all the questions!
Molin was never in any “Asian” country?? At least not that I know of. I was referring to another country.
I'd rather not post what info I have from my friend since there are Molin Fanclub creeps on here. I have not talked to her in a while and I certainly didn't write down what she told me but I can contact her and get more info. Whether or not she will be ok w your questions, I don't know.
As far as an Asian country that was an assumption on my part as she didn't tell me where it happened, just that she talked to a young girl in another country who barely spoke English and was raped by Molin. These details are important and I certainly don't want to give you bad info so I apologize for making that assumption.
My friend was raped a little over a year before Molin killed himself and all those other people; summer of 2000. After the crash happened I knew something was wrong with her as she started acting...I don't know...DIFFERENT. Then one day she says she has something to tell me, urgent that I come over. So I pick up some sushi, take it to her apartment and I barely get in the door before she just starts unloading. I was FLOORED.
No she doesn't work at AA as she left not long after she told me about the rape. Beyond that I will have to contact her about what she is and isn't willing to tell. It's been over two decades since all this and it isn't really something we talk about anymore. But I do know that airlines are always going to protect pilots over FAs.
Can I contact you at the email you posted? There's a very slim chance I could get her to contact you directly. But I mean it when I say slim. At least I can try.
How did she meet this other girl? Was it on a layover? Brazil or Australia perhaps? There seems to be a connection there with American pilots. Are you on Reddit?
I don’t know how Molin got away with all this? There are so many of us out there. Is she still working in the industry? Or has she moved on? Would she talk to Sara Hammel? She can remain anonymous. Problem is (and I am finding this with another case I know about) people will make all sorts of claims via email or on Reddit but fail to follow through and commit to going on the record or reporting an assault to the police. Predators like Molin still have plenty of supporters though willing to fight for them.
Yes I'm sure getting victims on the record is a problem when it has to do w rape. The guilt and shame that comes from being a victim of such a horrible thing is real and breaks my heart. As I said my friend kept all this a secret from me and even her own family members until he was dead! It's just awful.
I will talk to her and contact you thru email. Thanks.
I am thinking of posting this on Medium to counter some of the pro Molin spamming by one person. As you can tell writing isn’t my forte. Would this be ok? Anyone with any further information on Molin or story suggestions (there are so many out there and I have gone through old comments to craft this first draft) please contact me at maireadconlan343@gmail.com
I think it's *very* well written. Such a valuable addition to what's out there; very moving to hear directly from you, in your own words, in your own way. I'm so sorry that happened to you.
Thank you, but it does need a lot of work. I haven’t written anything in this vein since around high school. I am fine with dry technically detailed texts but this sort of writing isn’t my forte and I am finding it hard to get the “tone” right. I haven’t heard from any more Molin people who seemed to have left those of us still speaking out against him in the lurch and pretty much hung out to dry! I was thinking of including some of those accounts from the screen grabs I have kept. I don’t want to upset people by sharing their accounts as part of my story without their permission, however these accounts are out there in the public domain so maybe just blacking out personal details is enough? The article written by “the person” who was once Molin’s underage victim and young teen mom of his kids, (and I am comfortable saying that and stating her threats of defamation proceedings are empty because she knows any court action would only expose Molin for who he really was and embarrass her) but now is very much his protector and outed herself as a liar and rape/pedophile apologist, and not to mention a little thug, has gotten many views because the algorithms have featured it as one of the top Google searches for Sten Molin in multiple countries I have visited. I am not sure if Molin’s Greenwich community is aware of cares much about these allegations because the angry emails I have received supposedly from people in that community might be the person?! Although there are some details included that make me believe maybe these emails are genuine. I don’t know.
On another note I am getting swamped with B———- emails. The information is useless because the claims are vague rumors about what this person may have done in college. I believe and support the person’s victim. I feel so sorry for her. She seems like a lovely, intelligent young lady who has just had her life ruined by this individual. What she experienced is very much what Molin victims experienced. Her story is identical to ours right down to the powerful corporation circling the wagons around the individual who is alleged to have preyed on her. I am so angry that people just don’t care. Sure you don’t have to care about young women being preyed on but aren’t you concerned about this for selfish reasons? I don’t know…maybe a pilot facing the stress of an investigation into serious sexual misconduct might be at the controls of your next plane. Would you feel safe with them in command? And so it all goes on….
I emailed B——- alleged victim and said I am here to support you in any small way I can. I have to be very careful with the Reddit group. I am mindful of the current legal action underway and the investigation into other allegations. I would hate to jeopardise any of that. I also don’t want to be slapped with a defamation, harassment, or invasion of privacy lawsuit. I know B—- is aware of the group and is flagging and reporting every post. This makes his alleged victims upset, but I have explained it is just to protect the victims (and there might be others) and myself. I do believe them! Although I am not sure they understand that. I just feel awful for this lady. I am angry and disheartened that this is still happening. B—- is accused of rape. I would love to give this A$$$$hold a verbal lashing on Reddit but I know at this stage that won’t help anyone and just get the group shut down.
Generally speaking it gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing Reddit makes certain people uncomfortable. They are on notice that victims and alleged victims have supporters willing to stand up for them. They know people DO care and their behaviour isn’t unnoticed. I hope this makes them think twice before they harm anyone else.
As for Molin’s mole, I wish she’d get lost. I want to put the Molin stuff behind me. She’s doing him no favors. If anyone aligns themselves with her, they are showing their support for someone defending their own abuser which is very sad. She’s needs psychiatric help because her behaviour is not normal.
It’s fantastic to see Airlines are finally taking passenger safety and the well being of their female flight attendants and pilots seriously by cleaning house and weeding out the predators in their ranks. Just kidding! The boys are up to their old tricks… Protecting and enabling dangerous predators. In my Reddit group I have obtained and posted the screenshots that Brandon Butler sent to the FA. I am fairly confident now that the allegations against Butler (at least for harassment and stalking) are true. I also, at this stage and from what I know, believe the other allegations against him. But he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, AND of course I only have a very small snapshot of what is going on here.
Your troll has become my troll btw. I really failed to understand how insane she is! She creates one account after another, sometimes multiple accounts in one day! She is doing Molin no favors. At this point she is complicit in covering for a pedophile and predator even if she once was his victim. If she works her workplace needs to be notified immediately and if she has a family do they not noticed how irrational her behaviour is? Don’t they care?
I also received an email ostensibly from a very entitled Greenwich man who claims to have known Molin and “he could never do this…..blah blah blah” but it could also be an email from Molin’s girlfriend with another sock puppet account.
Well done Karlene! I see Newton is retired?
A big Thank you to both Karlene and Sara for all your hard work, for doing so much with very little support, and bearing the brunt of the awful misogyny and hate that comes with exposing male predators.
Wow...Creepy Sten's creepy fangirl is STILL holding a torch for him? Ugh. She tried to tell me how wonderful and gorgeous he was...it was quite nauseating. How does she find time to go to work, eat, bathe with all this cyber stalking and the accompanying fake accounts needed? What a pathetic individual.
I know. She was actually a victim of a pedo and continues to hold a torch for the creep. I can't imagine living like that; protecting such a horrible individual. UGH. I actually feel sort of bad for someone this pathetic.
Actually I haven't had to spend any time "smearing" that creep's name. I know for a fact that he's a rapist bc I personally know a woman he raped and whether you believe that or not is totally irrelevant. It's just a fact, no matter how many times you say "Sten did not..." ad nauseum.
You're literally the groupie of a dead rapist so perhaps you should try a little humility.
I've seen your obsessive posts and I really do hope you get help so perhaps you can have some sort of normal life outside of holding a torch for a deceased predator.
Let me help you. What I wrote was: I KNOW A WOMAN WHO WAS RAPED BY STEN MOLIN. Can you see that better with the bigger letters? Because all that other jibberish with which you replied has nothing to do w my comment. I don't have a "friend of a friend of a friend" involved in this nor did I say anything about Substack. So apparently you haven't "heard it all before".
The information you asked for is with the proper agencies and authorities. My friend has no need to give that information to a stranger on the internet who isn't involved in investigating such things so no, it won't be made available to you. Tell yourself whatever you need to on that; your opinion on it is irrelevant.
I really mean it when I said I hope you seek help and are able to move on w your life. You seem quite troubled and that is sad. I do wish the best for you. Moving on is a good thing. Goodbye.
In the context of what I wrote, you're literally saying it IS necessary for me to spend time smearing Sten Molin. That's quite bizarre. You should get a better handle on spelling and grammar before trying to call out others. You're clearly not very bright.
I'm not on social media, I've never been on your friend's "tribute page", I've never created a "bot", I have no pics of Sten (I find him repulsive so no thanks) and I don't know anyone named "Zoe". You sound about as delusional as "Iris", but for all I know you're the same person.
If you have multiple personality disorder do you get more than one bill from your therapist?
A note on Sten Molin:
I remember being an open, friendly, trusting and VERY green FA eager to please and do well at my job. I remember thinking pilots MUST be good people because they were in a position of such great responsibility. I remember not having the life-skills, wisdom, experience, and mental toughness (that can only come with age), and the ability to tell Sten Molin: “NO. I am NOT interested in you! Leave me alone!”
I remember not understanding at first how manipulative, coercive, and predatory FO Sten Molin’s behaviour was. He made me uncomfortable: late night emails, messing with scheduling so I would always be flying with him, creepy unwelcome ogling, impromptu massages, cuddles, and kisses (you’ve seen the real photo of Molin, he was physically repulsive). I didn’t want to upset or offend Molin by telling him how I really felt. I wanted to tell him to “get lost”, but I was far too polite and well mannered to do so. As women we are taught to be polite and to prioritise men’s feelings, not our own. Then society punishes us and calls us “ stupid” or “naive” and we are victim blamed if we are assaulted. Being young and naive is not our shame. Believing people are good and expecting the best of others is a reflection of our own goodness and not something we should be ashamed of. So when Sten Molin knocked on my hotel room door with an offer of alcohol he had “specially made just for me”, against my better instincts and judgement I let him in. After plying me with alcohol Molin raped me.
Shortly after my rape Molin was responsible for the second worst aviation disaster in American history. American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into Rockaway Queens shortly after takeoff killing Molin and 264 innocent people. In terms of human fatality, and removing plane disasters caused by factors other than pilot error, Molin was responsible for the worst plane crash in American aviation history, and the 5th worst plane crash in aviation history.
Molin had the gift of the gab. Ostensibly and superfically , he was friendly, happy, always with a quick smile and a joke. I have no doubt many of Molin’s friends still remember the happy, outgoing man with a zest for life. In Greenwich Molin maintained the carefully constructed facade of the good son and friend, a decent trustworthy guy always ready to lend a hand. With some pilots Molin was also the upstanding gentlemen who was friendly with everyone.
Molin however, wore masks. He lived many different lives in the many different parts of the world he travelled to. He let the mask drop only with “certain” people- those of us he considered beneath him. Cleaners, those from socially disadvantaged communities, maintenance workers, but most of all young flight attendants and underage girls he could groom and manipulate all saw who Molin really was. In an instant Molin could turn from “ good guy" to predator. It was a violent, jarring awakening, like a blow to your solar plexus that left you breathless. Your friend was gone, and Sten Molin, rapist and pedophile remained.
The real Molin was cunning and clever. He was a prolific liar and skilled at manipulation. He told elaborate carefully crafted lies to impress whomever was targeting. Victims were regaled with stories about his glory days as a fighter pilot, whose friend tragically died in a training accident. For some he was secretly working for NASA or a NORAD spy. For others Molin came from a hard scrabble background and worked tirelessly to fund Yale Medicine working as a bartender.
After the crash and news of Molin’s life made the media some of us who knew Molin in his American Airlines life were asking: “who was Molin? “ In the media there was no mention of Yale or NASA or military service. This was all puzzling and perplexing. Didn’t Molin go to Yale? Didn’t he graduate summa cum laude with a degree in Medicine?
Was Molin the youngest Yale scholarship holder? Was he the youngest pilot ever hired by American Airlines as his father often boasted in the news media shortly after the crash? Was Molin a fighter pilot? Was Molin ANY of these things? Much to our surprise it turned out Molin was very ordinary. He grew up in a modest home in Greenwich. He dropped out of a third-rate college before training to be a pilot at a “mom and pop” aviation school in Tennesse, now long since closed. He never graduated college. He obtained a bogus qualification from a Diploma mill. He wasn’t much of a commercial airline pilot either. He had a previous well-documented history of “wigging out” to minor upsets during flights. A Captain called him out for “gunning the rudder” in response to minor wake turbulence. He had gunned the engines and yanked back the yoke violently pitching up to escape another minor jet wash encounter. Were there more such incidents that were never uncovered during the N.T.S.B investigation into the crash? Given the “don’t snitch on your crew rule” very likely.
Molin’s victims( who have spoken directly to journalist Sara Hammel) remember reporting Molin’s predation to American Airlines. They remember being dismissed, ignored, their complaints of serious abuse trivialised. They remember being treated as expendable and replaceable. In the case of Flight 587 flight attendants were the canaries in the coal mine.
They reported that Molin was unstable, erratic, and unpredictable. They reported on layovers Molin plied young FAs with alcohol and gallantly escorted them back to their hotel rooms and only once behind a closed hotel room door lifted his mask and violently raped them. No one was listening and no one cared. A young FA doesn’t have a voice especially when challenging a male commercial airline pilot.
Molin chose his victims carefully. He had a type: small thin women he could easily overpower with his size and weight. There were rumors about Molin’s bizarre obsession with a very thin underage girl in a distant land. Molin cleverly groomed underage girls, some of whom still remain captivated by his superficial charm and prolific lies. Molin never served in the military. The records are conclusive.
Molin was tall and gangly, with a large nose, beady eyes and thin lips. He was wasn’t any young heterosexual female flight attendants’ dream of a dashing former military pilot, so he told lies to boost his image. He cultivated a mystique surrounding his childhood with tall tales of fleeing the Stasi, tunnelling under the Berlin Wall and heroic military service. He would brag and boast, some of the old line pilots would roll their eyes and chuckle, but us younger FAs believed him. From boarding to touchdown Molin would talk non-stop. A Captain called him “that motormouth”, others enjoyed his company and willingness to listen to their problems.
Molin would make unreasonable demands of FAs, whom he treated as his servants. We were to be at his beck and call. “Get me a coffee or this plane isn’t going anywhere”, Molin would demand. Molin LOVED coffee, and anything to give him an adrenaline boost. When he died the stimulant ephedrine was found in his system.
On layovers Molin would lounge by the pool or party with the FAs at bars or clubs, anywhere alcohol was freely available. Molin, however was a teetotaller. He rarely drank, but he would carefully watch the young FAs drink shot after shot, often actively encouraging it. He was happy to pay for drinks when us broke FAs ran out of money and our glasses were empty. Molin was flush with cash and he would keep the alcohol flowing, buying FAs fancy cocktails with ridiculous hypersexualized names like “sex on the beach” or “sweet poison” or “pop my cherry”. (Yes, three FAs recall this). We thought it was funny, but we didn’t know it came with a catch, and we didn’t know Molin’s true intentions.
Molin’s MO “modus operandi” was well honed. Crafty and intelligent Molin knew that assaulting women in the upper class enclave of Greenwich Connecticut would destroy his carefully constructed “good guy” facade. So he chose to assault young FAs in distant lands on layovers where help was away far and there in the middle of the night after drinks, Molin would accompany a lone flight attendant back to an empty dark hotel room. Once the door was firmly closed, Molin's friendly, courteous demeanor would disappear.
Molin’s “signature” was to overpower victims by using his upper body strength to push you down onto the bed. He would compress victims with his body weight almost like a small butterfly pinched to a spreading board. If you did not comply with Molin's sexual demands, Molin would not punch you or threaten you with physical violence. His approach was almost “gentle”. He would whisper “it’s ok, it’s ok” over and over into your ear, as if trying to soothe you or convince himself that this wasn’t a “real” assault. A real assault happens in a seedy, dark, alleyway. A rapist is a stranger in a trench coat holding a knife to your throat and threatening you with death. Surely a rapist isn’t the goofy, bespectacled nice guy who your senior First Officer!?
But we know now in the age of #MeToo that a rapist can be anyone. He or she can be a media executive, a successful Hollywood producer, a well-known rapper, he can be everyone’s favourite comedian, the goofy, amiable doctor of the US Women’s Gymnastics Team (Larry Nassar). Or in my case the ordinary, well regarded friendly American Airlines pilot. Successful predators are often ordinary men and women just like us, and this scares us because it means predators can be anyone and that also means anyone can be a victim.
Sten Molin raped me and many others. He also groomed and assaulted underage girls. I know this is painful to hear for many who considered Molin to be a dear friend. But it is the truth and victims have a right to speak the truth. Sara Hammel has spoken directly with MANY of Molin’s victims. We are real. This is not a smear campaign.
I never fully grasped the size differential that his victims faced. He was 5' 11," which to me is about average, but if he targeted children and petite women, he must have seemed huge. I would be fascinated to see footage from the wedding we went to. I remember us giving the standard congratulations to the newlyweds into the videographer's camera. I wore a low heel and was about his height. I just never thought it would end up like this. But looking back, I missed some signs, and when I investigated those further in 2022, I discovered disgusting behavior targeting people outside the airline industry. Those are not my stories to tell, but they are why I named him one year after writing a romanticized version of a nice-guy pilot who lost his life while valiantly trying to save a plane full of people. I believed his victims from day one, but I only named him myself when I had enough to know without a shadow of a doubt he was highly disturbed, drug-using predator whose enablers are as guilty as he is. P.S. URI is a good state school, a decent university...totally your call but you might say that after one year there, he couldn't hack it, and dropped out?
Well I am 161 cm or 5’2 and I also know Molin’s ex girlfriend (D—-M) who by all accounts was a very nice lady (so I won’t drag her into this) was also around that height. Molin had a type. Molin had a good 20cm on me, so yes he did seem HUGE to his victims. Imagine a man 20cm taller than you are and you get the idea.
From the details you mentioned here, expecting someone you don’t know and have just met to share a hotel room and bed with you is outrageous! Expecting that person to lie about “dating you” is also violating boundaries. And then expecting someone you barely know to spend a week with you in Belize in a hotel room is massively entitled. But that was Sten Molin for you. Americans are much more forward in their dating habits than British or Australians but even factoring that in I don’t know how Molin’s behaviour would be considered acceptable, sleazy, slimy at best…
No, URI is third-rate. I searched the QS rating and it ranks well below universities here in Australia like WSU, which is a college for those whose ATAR marks aren’t enough to get them into better schools like UNSW, which is one of our top universities (and my Alma Mater) ranked 19th in the world, below Harvard, Oxford etc but above Princeton and Yale. So Australia holds its own academically. URI really doesn’t rate. WSU has a ranking of 300 while URI is something like 600! Molin was a moron, this idea that he was intelligent is ridiculous.
I want to put my article on Medium to counter the pro Molin spamming and also to really help people understand that we aren’t all you. That’s a paranoid delusion spread by one very sad and unstable individual.
Just because it's not harvard doesn't make it third rate. You will be needlessly insulting people if you say that and the tone will be simply wrong. honestly it's different here. Google it. URI is a state school with many excellent qualities and alumni.
I just realized you mentioned your friend went to URI so you likely studied there as well. Look I sincerely apologize. I didn’t think before I wrote that. It was a stupid thing to say and upon further review I can see URI is an extremely well regarded university. QS ratings are highly subjective anyway. My intention was only to down Molin. Your point is correct. Molin dropped out because he couldn’t commit to full time rigorous academic study. I will actually focus on the fake Bachelor of Science he claimed he had from the diploma mill. Go to Wikipedia “Pacific Western University Hawaii”. I have updated the page to include Molin as being one of their fraudulent scholars. I doubt he would have been hired by American had they known at the time. Various high level officials and academics were forced to resign from lucrative careers because they were outed as holding degrees from PWU. It has about as much credibility as Trump University.
I did not go to URI
Ok, but my point stands.
On another note: I just can’t get the writing style and tone correct. At the moment the presentation of it feels juvenile and a little over dramatic. If I dial it down the writing style becomes too dry. This is really not my forte. Karlene would get it right!
I want to convey to the reader that Molin was an ordinary guy however he also lead this other double life. I want people to grasp that seemingly ordinary average “happy amiable” people can also be predators. I want to include more assault details to be credible but I also don’t want the story to be salacious and I know perverts enjoy reading descriptions of assaults. Also Medium would ban the article. Apparently writing about eating or playing with poo is perfectly acceptable though. Fk that psycho.
Yes apparently that creep Stan had a type. My friend whom he raped is 5'3"... wow. That is very telling. It's much easier to manhandle a woman who is petite. Ugh, I'm even more disgusted now. My heart breaks for these women.
I've seen his pic. "Physically repulsive" is a good way to put it.
I knew about AA587 of course as it was big news. But I was so floored when I found out this was the creep who raped my friend!! She used to tell me about "that creepy pilot who keeps hitting on me".
It sickens me that this man had all these victims. I'm so sorry he killed hundreds of people. And I'm so sorry about what he did to you!!
Yep and who wants to come out with a rape allegation against a pilot who has just “tragically lost his life”?
WOW... I didn't realize until just now that you were one of his victims. My friend who was raped by him has told me so much of the same. She told me he said wanted to be a doctor but dropped out of med school after he suddenly realized he wanted to join the military to become a fighter pilot helping the US fight terrorism. That same thing you wrote about plying you with alcohol, and about being in a certain Asian country where he was hitting on every skinny little Asian girl he could find? She told me this too. And how one girl found my friend later and through broken English she figured out that he had indeed raped this girl. It's absolutely spooky to read what you wrote. And as I said earlier, she is 5'3" and barely a 100 lbs, probably more like 85 or 90lbs, so exactly his type.
She also said that she found him completely unattractive with a huge beak nose and nonexistent lips (and after I saw a pic of him, I had to concur... ICK!) She said he never stopped yapping and everything out of his mouth was likely bullshit. She may have been a young flight attendant but she's also someone with a good bullshit detector. She knew from the gate he was "kinda creepy" (her words). But like you said, one night after a flight; "Hey, let me buy you a drink...", you know. And 3 or 4 drinks is lot for her size, especially since she's never been a big drinker. She'll have a glass of champagne at a wedding, that kind of thing but she doesn't drink regularly. So she had no tolerance for alcohol.
This all verifies that my decision to believe her was the right thing. I new she had been raped by a pilot. But it wasn't until after he died that I found out it was this creep. Plus my friend is a very dignified woman; she would never make up something like this. Reading what you wrote above was like listening to her tell it all over again.
I know, Molin was full of shite. In what year did he attack your friend? Did she report the assault? To HR? To the union? Did she tell you what the response was? Does your friend still work for American? What’s the word on the street there about Molin? Has your friend spoken to Sara Hammel? Or has she just found this page recently? Sorry for all the questions!
Molin was never in any “Asian” country?? At least not that I know of. I was referring to another country.
I'd rather not post what info I have from my friend since there are Molin Fanclub creeps on here. I have not talked to her in a while and I certainly didn't write down what she told me but I can contact her and get more info. Whether or not she will be ok w your questions, I don't know.
As far as an Asian country that was an assumption on my part as she didn't tell me where it happened, just that she talked to a young girl in another country who barely spoke English and was raped by Molin. These details are important and I certainly don't want to give you bad info so I apologize for making that assumption.
My friend was raped a little over a year before Molin killed himself and all those other people; summer of 2000. After the crash happened I knew something was wrong with her as she started acting...I don't know...DIFFERENT. Then one day she says she has something to tell me, urgent that I come over. So I pick up some sushi, take it to her apartment and I barely get in the door before she just starts unloading. I was FLOORED.
No she doesn't work at AA as she left not long after she told me about the rape. Beyond that I will have to contact her about what she is and isn't willing to tell. It's been over two decades since all this and it isn't really something we talk about anymore. But I do know that airlines are always going to protect pilots over FAs.
Can I contact you at the email you posted? There's a very slim chance I could get her to contact you directly. But I mean it when I say slim. At least I can try.
How did she meet this other girl? Was it on a layover? Brazil or Australia perhaps? There seems to be a connection there with American pilots. Are you on Reddit?
My email is maireadconlan343@gmail.com
I don’t know how Molin got away with all this? There are so many of us out there. Is she still working in the industry? Or has she moved on? Would she talk to Sara Hammel? She can remain anonymous. Problem is (and I am finding this with another case I know about) people will make all sorts of claims via email or on Reddit but fail to follow through and commit to going on the record or reporting an assault to the police. Predators like Molin still have plenty of supporters though willing to fight for them.
Yes I'm sure getting victims on the record is a problem when it has to do w rape. The guilt and shame that comes from being a victim of such a horrible thing is real and breaks my heart. As I said my friend kept all this a secret from me and even her own family members until he was dead! It's just awful.
I will talk to her and contact you thru email. Thanks.
I am thinking of posting this on Medium to counter some of the pro Molin spamming by one person. As you can tell writing isn’t my forte. Would this be ok? Anyone with any further information on Molin or story suggestions (there are so many out there and I have gone through old comments to craft this first draft) please contact me at maireadconlan343@gmail.com
I think it's *very* well written. Such a valuable addition to what's out there; very moving to hear directly from you, in your own words, in your own way. I'm so sorry that happened to you.
Thank you, but it does need a lot of work. I haven’t written anything in this vein since around high school. I am fine with dry technically detailed texts but this sort of writing isn’t my forte and I am finding it hard to get the “tone” right. I haven’t heard from any more Molin people who seemed to have left those of us still speaking out against him in the lurch and pretty much hung out to dry! I was thinking of including some of those accounts from the screen grabs I have kept. I don’t want to upset people by sharing their accounts as part of my story without their permission, however these accounts are out there in the public domain so maybe just blacking out personal details is enough? The article written by “the person” who was once Molin’s underage victim and young teen mom of his kids, (and I am comfortable saying that and stating her threats of defamation proceedings are empty because she knows any court action would only expose Molin for who he really was and embarrass her) but now is very much his protector and outed herself as a liar and rape/pedophile apologist, and not to mention a little thug, has gotten many views because the algorithms have featured it as one of the top Google searches for Sten Molin in multiple countries I have visited. I am not sure if Molin’s Greenwich community is aware of cares much about these allegations because the angry emails I have received supposedly from people in that community might be the person?! Although there are some details included that make me believe maybe these emails are genuine. I don’t know.
On another note I am getting swamped with B———- emails. The information is useless because the claims are vague rumors about what this person may have done in college. I believe and support the person’s victim. I feel so sorry for her. She seems like a lovely, intelligent young lady who has just had her life ruined by this individual. What she experienced is very much what Molin victims experienced. Her story is identical to ours right down to the powerful corporation circling the wagons around the individual who is alleged to have preyed on her. I am so angry that people just don’t care. Sure you don’t have to care about young women being preyed on but aren’t you concerned about this for selfish reasons? I don’t know…maybe a pilot facing the stress of an investigation into serious sexual misconduct might be at the controls of your next plane. Would you feel safe with them in command? And so it all goes on….
It's all one person.
B—— or Molin or both?
Meant to say no one from Greenwich is emailing you…will email you at some point to tell you how I know
Ok.
I emailed B——- alleged victim and said I am here to support you in any small way I can. I have to be very careful with the Reddit group. I am mindful of the current legal action underway and the investigation into other allegations. I would hate to jeopardise any of that. I also don’t want to be slapped with a defamation, harassment, or invasion of privacy lawsuit. I know B—- is aware of the group and is flagging and reporting every post. This makes his alleged victims upset, but I have explained it is just to protect the victims (and there might be others) and myself. I do believe them! Although I am not sure they understand that. I just feel awful for this lady. I am angry and disheartened that this is still happening. B—- is accused of rape. I would love to give this A$$$$hold a verbal lashing on Reddit but I know at this stage that won’t help anyone and just get the group shut down.
Generally speaking it gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing Reddit makes certain people uncomfortable. They are on notice that victims and alleged victims have supporters willing to stand up for them. They know people DO care and their behaviour isn’t unnoticed. I hope this makes them think twice before they harm anyone else.
As for Molin’s mole, I wish she’d get lost. I want to put the Molin stuff behind me. She’s doing him no favors. If anyone aligns themselves with her, they are showing their support for someone defending their own abuser which is very sad. She’s needs psychiatric help because her behaviour is not normal.
It’s fantastic to see Airlines are finally taking passenger safety and the well being of their female flight attendants and pilots seriously by cleaning house and weeding out the predators in their ranks. Just kidding! The boys are up to their old tricks… Protecting and enabling dangerous predators. In my Reddit group I have obtained and posted the screenshots that Brandon Butler sent to the FA. I am fairly confident now that the allegations against Butler (at least for harassment and stalking) are true. I also, at this stage and from what I know, believe the other allegations against him. But he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, AND of course I only have a very small snapshot of what is going on here.
Your troll has become my troll btw. I really failed to understand how insane she is! She creates one account after another, sometimes multiple accounts in one day! She is doing Molin no favors. At this point she is complicit in covering for a pedophile and predator even if she once was his victim. If she works her workplace needs to be notified immediately and if she has a family do they not noticed how irrational her behaviour is? Don’t they care?
I also received an email ostensibly from a very entitled Greenwich man who claims to have known Molin and “he could never do this…..blah blah blah” but it could also be an email from Molin’s girlfriend with another sock puppet account.
Well done Karlene! I see Newton is retired?
A big Thank you to both Karlene and Sara for all your hard work, for doing so much with very little support, and bearing the brunt of the awful misogyny and hate that comes with exposing male predators.
Wow...Creepy Sten's creepy fangirl is STILL holding a torch for him? Ugh. She tried to tell me how wonderful and gorgeous he was...it was quite nauseating. How does she find time to go to work, eat, bathe with all this cyber stalking and the accompanying fake accounts needed? What a pathetic individual.
I don't know anyone named "Zoe", therefore your reply is moot.
I know. She was actually a victim of a pedo and continues to hold a torch for the creep. I can't imagine living like that; protecting such a horrible individual. UGH. I actually feel sort of bad for someone this pathetic.
The only Hummels I know of are collectable figurines.
"She" didn't tell me anything actually. But yes, she is the victim of a pedo.
This isn't any "sort of journalism" as I am only here posting replies.
Try valid comments. With every reply you post you sound more ignorant.
Actually I haven't had to spend any time "smearing" that creep's name. I know for a fact that he's a rapist bc I personally know a woman he raped and whether you believe that or not is totally irrelevant. It's just a fact, no matter how many times you say "Sten did not..." ad nauseum.
You're literally the groupie of a dead rapist so perhaps you should try a little humility.
I've seen your obsessive posts and I really do hope you get help so perhaps you can have some sort of normal life outside of holding a torch for a deceased predator.
Let me help you. What I wrote was: I KNOW A WOMAN WHO WAS RAPED BY STEN MOLIN. Can you see that better with the bigger letters? Because all that other jibberish with which you replied has nothing to do w my comment. I don't have a "friend of a friend of a friend" involved in this nor did I say anything about Substack. So apparently you haven't "heard it all before".
The information you asked for is with the proper agencies and authorities. My friend has no need to give that information to a stranger on the internet who isn't involved in investigating such things so no, it won't be made available to you. Tell yourself whatever you need to on that; your opinion on it is irrelevant.
I really mean it when I said I hope you seek help and are able to move on w your life. You seem quite troubled and that is sad. I do wish the best for you. Moving on is a good thing. Goodbye.
I haven't spent any time smearing Sten Molin. It isn't necessary.
Self-awareness is a great thing; I hope you find some and get the psychiatric help you so desperately need. Good luck!
In the context of what I wrote, you're literally saying it IS necessary for me to spend time smearing Sten Molin. That's quite bizarre. You should get a better handle on spelling and grammar before trying to call out others. You're clearly not very bright.
I'm not on social media, I've never been on your friend's "tribute page", I've never created a "bot", I have no pics of Sten (I find him repulsive so no thanks) and I don't know anyone named "Zoe". You sound about as delusional as "Iris", but for all I know you're the same person.
If you have multiple personality disorder do you get more than one bill from your therapist?
Actually you can consider that last sentence to be rhetorical, as I really don't give a sh*t either way.
*As IF you would even know what "rhetorical" means.
In reality tho, I haven't actually devoted any time to slandering anyone. I just know Sten Molin raped my friend.
Seek help, "Iris" or whatever your name actually is. Good luck.