By Elton Gomes
An Indian techie, hailing from Tamil Nadu, has been sentenced to nine years of imprisonment on Thursday on charges of a “brazen sexual assault” against a fellow female passenger on-board a commercial airplane early in 2018.
According to media reports, 35-year-old accused Prabhu Ramamoorthy came to the US on an H-1B visa in 2015, and will be deported after he serves his nine-year sentence, a federal court in Detroit ruled as it sentenced Ramamoorthy to nine years of imprisonment.
Judge Terrence Berge hoped the sentence would be grave enough to deter others from committing similar crimes. Federal prosecutors had earlier sought 11 years of imprisonment for Ramamoorthy.
“Everyone has the right to be secure and safe when they travel on airplanes. We will not tolerate the behaviour of anyone, who takes advantage of victims who are in a vulnerable position. We appreciate the victim in this case for her courage to speak out,” US Attorney Matthew Schneider said after the sentencing was announced.
What happened?
Ramamoorthy and his wife were returning to Detroit after a trip to the Grand Canyon, and were in a Spirit Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Detroit on January 3.
He sat in the middle seat between a 22-year-old woman who occupied the window seat and his wife, who sat in the aisle seat.
While seated next to his wife, Ramamoorthy allegedly took advantage of the 22-year-old woman traveling alone, federal prosecutors said in a sentencing memo ahead of his appearance before the court.
“As she slept on a late-night flight, he untied her shirt, unzipped her pants, and shoved his fingers inside of her with such force that it woke her up,” the prosecutors said.
“It was only then that he stopped, turned the other way, and pretended to sleep on his wife. When confronted by law enforcement, he claimed that he had been in a deep sleep and insisted that he did not intentionally touch her,” they added, as per a PTI report.
During the trial, the government admitted evidence demonstrating that Ramamoorthy had digitally penetrated the 22-year-old woman sleeping next to him during the flight. After she woke up, she found her pants unbuttoned and unzipped, and sought help from the flight attendants.
Hours later, after giving conflicting testimonies about the events, Ramamoorthy finally said that he might have unclasped the victims bra while she was asleep and touched her inappropriately.
What did Ramamoorthys lawyers say?
Ramamoorthy’s lawyers urged the court for a minimum incarceration period, arguing that he does not have a criminal history and has led a crime-free life.
His life is “effectively over”, Ramamoorthy’s lawyer told the court, adding, “As a result of this case, he will have been incarcerated, assaulted in custody, and eventually will be released to a life of shaming and great difficulties”.
During his trial, Ramamoorthy presented himself to the court as a confused man stranded in America without sufficient English language skills despite his sophisticated technological job, federal prosecutors alleged.
His lack of empathy and remorse should not go unnoticed by this court, the federal prosecutors argued.
The prosecutor urged the court that Ramamoorthy should not be deported to India before completing his jail sentence. “Individuals who come to America and commit sexual assaults should not simply be permitted to return to their home countries without fair punishment,” the federal prosecutors said.
Airplane sexual assault is serious offence: FBI
In recent years, a number of Indian nationals have been arrested or charged with sexual assault inside a plane. The FBI says that airplane sexual assault is a serious offence that has been on the rise. As per FBI statistics, investigations of mid-air sexual assaults increased by 66 percent from 2014 to 2017.
The FBI thinks that airplane sexual assault could be on the rise due to increasingly “cramped, confined spaces; alcohol and drugs; fewer flight attendants; and dark cabins on night flights” these are factors that “likely embolden offenders”, the FBI said in a recent report.
According to mental health professionals, victims who are violated in confined spaces feel even more helpless, vulnerable, and powerless.
Victims could also feel intimidated by the person sitting next to them, since the seating arrangement means that the perpetrator could effectively restrict the victim from getting up, according to the FBI.
Elton Gomes is a staff writer at Qrius