- Prabhu Ramamoorthy, 34, charged by federal agents with aggravated sexual abuse
- Indian citizen is accused of undoing bra on 22-year-old woman and trying to digitally penetrate her mid-flight from Las Vegas to Detroit
- Victim told feds she awoke to discover Ramamoorthy shoving his fingers inside her pants ‘and vigorously moving them’
- Ramamoorthy initially claimed he had been in deep sleep, then allegedly admitted that he tried to put fingers inside woman’s privates but failed
Mid-flight assault: Prabhu Ramamoorthy, 34, from India, is accused of undoing a sleeping woman’s bra and attempting to digitally penetrate her on a Las Vegas-to-Detroit flight
A man from India has been arrested for aggravated sexual abuse after allegedly molesting a 22-year-old woman who was sleeping beside him on board a Sprit Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Detroit.
The victim told FBI agents on Wednesday that she awoke in her window seat that morning to discover a fellow passenger, identified as 34-year-old Prabhu Ramamoorthy, shoving his fingers inside her pants ‘and vigorously moving them,’ according to a federal criminal complaint.
The woman said her seatmate stopped touching her when she opened her eyes. The female traveler then noticed that both her shirt and pants had been undone.
The shaken and crying passenger immediately alerted flight attendants about the alleged assault, according to the complaint cited by CBS Detroit.
When the flight landed at Detroit Metro Airport, Ramamoorthy was taken into custody by Wayne County Airport Authority.
The 34-year-old suspect, who is a citizen of India, initially stated that he had been in ‘deep sleep’ during the flight and did not know where he had placed his hands.
The incident took place on board a Spirit Airlines flight on Wednesday morning (stock image)
He later altered his story, telling an FBI agent that he might have unclasped the sleeping stranger’s bra ‘while playing with it’ and had cupped her breasts over her blouse.
The court filing states that Ramamoorthy also admitted that he ‘unzipped the woman’s pants part-way and put his finger in her pants’ in an attempt to digitally penetrate her, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Ramamoorthy briefly appeared in US District Court in Detroit for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday and was remanded to jail to await a detention hearing that was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
The 34-year-old suspect has made a request that the government contact the Indian consulate regarding his case.