An Indian national, living in the United States on a work visa, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting a sleeping woman on the flight.
Prabhu Ramamoorthy was sentenced in the federal court in Detroit on Thursday after being accused of molesting a woman on an overnight flight in January.
The court heard Mr Ramamoorthy was seated in a middle seat between his wife and the victim during this overnight flight from Las Vegas to Detroit, when he unzipped the 23-year-old’s pants, unbuttoned her shirt and molested her with his hands while she slept.
The victim got up and alerted the flight attendants about what happened. They moved her to a different seat and Police officers met the plane when it landed, according to the local media reports.
Prosecutors called it a "brazen" assault.
A jury convicted Ramamoorthy in August and the U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg while sentencing said he hoped it would be "grave enough" to deter others from committing similar crimes.
Source: Public Domain
Mr Ramamoorthy will be deported to India after serving his sentence.
