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Man pleads guilty to assault for improperly touching woman aboard flight

Published  February 16, 2017 4:19pm PST
Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — An Indian man has admitted he improperly touched a sleeping woman aboard a flight last year from Los Angeles to New Jersey.


Veerabhadrarao Kunam pleaded guilty Thursday to assault.

The 58-year-old resident of Visakhapatnam, India, was arrested in July after the Virgin America flight arrived in Newark.

Prosecutors say the woman awoke to find Kunam touching her genitals.

The woman alerted her male travel companion, who confronted Kunam. Investigators say Kunam offered to buy the man a drink. He declined and reported what happened to a flight crew member.

Kunam faces 30 to 60 days in prison and up to 90 days in an alcohol treatment center as part of a plea agreement. He will be sentenced March 22 in federal court in Newark.