Two men accused of sexually abusing passengers on planes flying to Seattle were sentenced Thursday.
According to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Abhinav Kuma of India was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Kumar, 39, was found guilty of abusive sexual contact following a three-day trial in May.
Kumar was arrested at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on February 18 for allegedly grabbing a juvenile’s breast while she was attempting to sleep on an Emirates trip from Dubai to Seattle, according to court records and trial testimony.
KIRO-TV, a CBS Seattle station, says that the victim was 17. Prosecutors sought a 21-month term, claiming Kumar exploited a vulnerable youngster, inflicting her enduring distress. The victim referred to the incident as a “persistent, haunting presence” throughout her life.
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Desmond Bostick of Federal Way, Washington, was sentenced to nine months in jail for assault with the purpose to commit a felony. He pled guilty to the offense as part of a plea agreement in April and will serve three years of supervised release after his term in prison.
On June 20, 2023, while seated in the final row of a plane departing from San Diego, Bostick repeatedly caressed the thigh of a woman in the middle seat next to him, according to prosecutors. He reportedly grabbed her buttocks twice as she rose to let a passenger in the window seat escape and reenter the row.
After the plane arrived, the woman informed the flight crew about Bostick’s behavior. A federal grand jury indicted Bostick in September, and the FBI discovered and arrested him on February 9. According to prosecutors, Bostick stated in the plea agreement that he touched the woman for sexual reasons.
According to CBS, U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead, who issued both terms, warned Bostock that “to characterize your conduct as a ‘lapse of judgment’ would be to divorce your behavior from its true ugliness.”
According to a statement from U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman, “The Western District of Washington continues to witness an increase in instances involving sexual assault onboard aircraft, and we have a zero-tolerance approach. These stories show that there are genuine consequences for predatory behavior.