On 30th July, Kunam was arrested when his flight arrived at Newark.
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NEWARK, N.J.: An airline passenger was charged with sexually touching a sleeping woman who did not know him aboard a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced on Tuesday.
A man, 58, has been charged with abusive sexual conduct after he touched a female passenger who was asleep on an overnight Virgin America flight, prosecutors said. She awoke to find Kunam massaging her genitals and rubbing his bare feet against her bare feet. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson Monday and was released on $50,000 secured bond, it said in a news release.
According to the complaint, when the woman – who has not been identified – noticed that Kunam was touching her, she told her male travel companion who was next to her in the window seat.
The woman and her companion told authorities that they refused Kunam’s subsequent offer to buy them a drink to apologize for the incident, and alerted a flight crew member about their allegations. The charge carries a $250,000 ($AU330,000) fine as well as a maximum two-year prison sentence.
According to the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network, one out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime – which indicates, unfortunately, that society is crawling with predators like Kunam.
The travel companion declined Kunam’s offer and alerted a flight crew member about what had occurred, the complaint said.
Veerabhadrarao Kunam is a resident of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. He then allegedly ordered the flying crew member that he would not reach the victim once more.
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Arnold added that the flight staff moved Kunam and alerted law enforcement, who were waiting when the plane landed.
