US jails Indian man for 9 years over airplane sex assault
CHICAGO An Indian national has been sentenced to nine years in prison for a brazen sexual assault of a woman on a plane while his wife sat next to him.
Prabhu Ramamoorthy was sentenced on Thursday in a Detroit court, the US Justice Department said.
The 35-year-old, who was in the US on a work visa, will be deported to India after completing his sentence, it said.
Prosecutors said Ramamoorthy was sitting in a middle seat on a January overnight flight from Las Vegas to Detroit, when he digitally penetrated a sleeping woman beside him as his wife sat on his other side.
The woman, woken by the assault, found her pants unbuttoned and unzipped.
She sought help from flight attendants.
Crew members told investigators she was crying as she reported the incident 40 minutes before landing, according to the Washington Post.
Ramamoorthy was arrested after the plane touched down. A jury convicted him in August after a five-day trial.
US Attorney Matthew Schneider said: "We will not tolerate the behaviour of anyone who takes advantage of victims who are in a vulnerable position." - AFP
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