US: South Carolina man imprisoned for groping woman passenger on plane

A man from the United States, who groped a woman passenger while she was sleeping aboard a flight, was sentenced to imprisonment for nearly two years on Thursday (Oct 5).

Hailing from South Carolina, 50-year-old Mohammad Jawad Ansari put his hand on the inner thigh of a woman as she slept in the middle seat of a plane that took off from Cleveland for Los Angeles in February 2020.

The victim woke up and pushed Ansari's hand away, left her seat, and informed a flight attendant about what had happened. The flight attendants observed Ansari during the remainder of the flight and believed he was pretending to sleep, said the officials.

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Ansari, who earlier denied the charge of abusive sexual contact, was found guilty after a four-day trial that was conducted in May, said the Department of Justice.

“[Ansari] committed a serious offence that caused immediate and long-lasting harm to [the victim],” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.

“In the immediate aftermath, [Ansari’s] groping left [the victim] shocked and afraid and witnesses testified that she sobbed for the remainder of the flight," a prosecutor told a court in Los Angeles.

On flights, the victim "now struggles to fall asleep because she is constantly concerned about ‘what if someone touches me.’"

The woman, who did not know Ansari, kept enduring the abusive contact for up to an hour, prosecutors said.

Ansari's attorney, Caleb Mason, stated that they intend to appeal his conviction.

Mason in a court filing asserted that Ansari was a law-abiding person and the conduct that he was convicted of was an aberration.

The FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office issued a public service announcement saying that "Most passengers travel by air without incident, but if you or a loved one encounter sexual misconduct, whether physical or verbal, please alert your flight attendant immediately because timely reporting is important for responding investigators."

(With inputs from agencies)

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