Doctor Says He Groped Sleeping Girl On Flight To NJ

A doctor has admitted he groped a 16-year-old girl while they were on a flight to New Jersey, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced today.

Vijaykumar Krishnappa, 29, pleaded guilty this week to touching the sleeping girl while flying from Seattle to Newark Liberty International Airport, according to Fitzpatrick. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark in Newark federal court on Wednesday.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

While on a United Airlines flight from Seattle to Newark on July 23, 2017, Krishnappa intentionally assaulted a girl who was unknown to him and seated next to him on the flight. Krishnappa admitted that while the victim was asleep, he intentionally touched her near her groin over her leggings without her consent.

Once the flight landed, the girl, from Washington state, called her parents while Krishnappa left the airport, Johnny McCray, an attorney for the girl’s family, told The Washington Post.

The incident happened on July 23. Krishnappa, an Indian national, had been released on bond, placed on electronic monitoring, and ordered to not have any contact with minors while the criminal case was pending, according to the report.

Krishnappa was studying medicine in the United States through a fellowship that allows for doctors from foreign countries to learn from experts in the US, according to the report.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Krishnappa will be sentenced to between 30 and 90 days in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2018.

Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, and the Port Authority of New York-New Jersey, with the investigation leading to the charges.

Patch file photo