A California man is now facing a two-year imprisonment after he groped a sleeping woman mid-flight. The sexual assault happened back in February, 2020.
But, the sexual predator was only sentenced on Thursday, Oct. 5. This was confirmed by federal prosecutors after 50-year-old Mohammad Jawad Ansari was found guilty in May of one count of abusive sexual contact.
California Man Groping Woman in Airplane Faces Two-Year Imprisonment
The sexual predator is currently sentenced to 21 months. Ansari was also ordered to pay $1,600 in restitution and a $33,750 fine.
Aside from this, the sex offender also needs to pay a $100 special assessment, as well as an additional $5,000 special assessment. What's worse is that Ansari was ordered to register as a sex offender.
Because of his unacceptable action, prosecutors heavily condemned the man, saying that it was an "outrageous and sexually predatory conduct" that warranted imprisonment.
In the court filing, federal prosecutors asked that the man should be jailed for two years. Via its official press release, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said that the incident happened during a flight from Cleveland to Los Angeles.
What Ansari Did to the Sleeping Woman
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said that Ansari sexually assaulted a sleeping woman seated next to him during their flight, as reported by NBC News.
"Ansari occupied a window seat in the 10th row, while the victim occupied the middle seat next to him," said the prosecutors.
They added that the woman, who was wearing a dress, fell asleep after the airplane started taking off. Ansari took advantage of this situation by placing his left hand on the victim's right knee (without her consent).
After that, the sex offender moved his malicious hand to the woman's inner thighs. Another passenger, who was sitting in the aisle seat next to the woman saw the man's action.
Luckily, the victim woke up and was able to push Ansari's hand away. Surprised by the man's action, the lady informed a flight attendant regarding the sexual assault.
After knowing the woman's complaint, flight attendants observed Ansari throughout the flight. However, the man's action already took a huge toll on the woman.
The U.S. attorney's office said that the victim told them that she's still having trouble sleeping during flights because of what happened.
"[Ansari] committed a serious offense that caused immediate and long-lasting harm to [the victim]," said the prosecutors.