Newark, USA: A 29-year-old Indian doctor has pleaded guilty to groping a minor girl who was sitting next to him on a New Jersey-bound United Airlines flight, according to officials. The doctor, a physician, was flying from Seattle on July 23 when he allegedly assaulted a 16-year-old girl sitting next to him. The doctor appeared before a federal magistrate in Newark and admitted that while the victim was asleep, he intentionally touched her near her groin over her leggings without her consent, Acting US Attorney William E Fitzpatrick said in a statement.
Under terms of a plea agreement, the Indian national will be sentenced to between 30 and 90 days in prison.
The minor girl, who was travelling, was asleep on the flight, when a stranger’s hand on her thigh awakened her. The doctor, sitting next to her quickly removed his hand, according to a federal court complaint, and the teenager went back to sleep. Then, she woke up again – and this time, the doctor was groping her, the complaint said. She reported the incident to the airline crew and was allowed to move seats. Once the flight from Seattle landed at Newark Liberty International Airport, the girl, from Washington, called her parents. While she did, the accused left the airport, said Johnny McCray, an attorney for the girl’s family. The girl’s family filed a complaint against United Airlines for neglecting to detain the doctor after the alleged assault, the report said. The FBI was called to handle the investigation and they used the flight manifest to track down the doctor. Later, the girl identified the doctor from a photo array.
