Indian American booked for sexually assaulting female passenger on 15-Hour flight

NEW JERSEY - A 63-year-old Indian American, Ramesh Advani, has been accused of sexually assaulting a female passenger sitting next to him during a 15-hour flight from Hong Kong to New York.

According to reports, federal authorities arrested Advani, of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, for allegedly reaching under the unnamed woman’s blanket and sexually abusing her as she slept on the Continental Airlines flight that landed at Newark Liberty International Airport last week.

A FBI affidavit said that two passengers sitting behind the woman and Advani witnessed him allegedly touching her around her inner thigh, among other things.

The passengers also told the FBI that the touching lasted for “a period of time”, and they had kicked the woman’s seat “in an attempt to alert her”, ABC News reports.

Judge Michael A. Ship, in a federal court in Newark, has restricted Advani’s travel to New Jersey, and made him surrender his passport.

Meanwhile, Advani was released on a 100,000-dollar bond secured by his home. He has also been ordered to have no contact with the victim or the witnesses.

If convicted of the charge of abusive sexual contact, Advani could face a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a 250,000 dollar fine. (ANI)