This Article is From Feb 17, 2017

Indian Man Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Woman On US Flight

Indian Man Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Woman On US Flight

V Kunam was arrested on July 30 after his flight arrived in Newark and was taken into federal custody.

Highlights

  • V Kunam admits to inappropriately touching a female co-passenger
  • Woman seated next to him was asleep on flight travelling to New Jersey
  • The Visakhapatnam resident faces 30 to 60 days in prison in the US
Washington: An Indian man has pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting a sleeping female co-passenger aboard a New Jersey-bound flight.

Veerabhadrarao Kunam, 58, had touched the passenger on a Virgin America red-eye flight from Los Angeles to New Jersey last year, a US attorney said yesterday.

Kunam, a resident of Visakhapatnam, was arrested on July 30 after his flight arrived in Newark and was taken into federal custody by the FBI.

He faces 30 to 60 days in prison and up to 90 days in an inpatient alcohol treatment centre.

He will be sentenced on March 22 in federal court in Newark.

According to documents filed and statements made in court, Kunam was seated next to a woman who occupied a middle seat on a Virgin America red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Newark on July 29 and 30 last year.

Enroute, the woman fell asleep. Kunam admitted that while the victim was asleep, he inappropriately touched the woman.

When the woman awoke and found Kunam touching her, she alerted her male travel companion, who confronted Kunam.

Investigators said Kunam offered to buy the man a drink, but he declined and reported what had happened to a flight crew member.
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