Man ‘Sexually Touched’ Sleeping Woman On Virgin America Flight: Prosecutor

NEWARK, NJ — Authorities have charged a man with “sexually touching” a sleeping woman aboard a July 30 flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office (NJ), Veerabhadrarao Kunam, 58, of Visakhapatnam, India, was charged by complaint with one count of abusive sexual contact. He appeared Monday afternoon in Newark federal court and was released on a $50,000 secured bond, prosecutors stated.

The criminal complaint alleges that the incident took place when Kunam was seated next to a woman who occupied a middle seat on a Virgin America redeye flight from Los Angeles to Newark.

Prosecutors allege that while the plane was in the air, the woman fell asleep, and awoke to find Kunam “massaging her genitals and rubbing his bare feet against her bare feet.”

The woman told authorities that upon noticing Kunam touching her, she alerted her male travel companion who traded seats with the victim and confronted Kunam, who said that he wanted everyone to “forget about the incident.”

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. Prosecutors said that a member of the flight crew then moved Kunam to another seat and instructed him not to return to his original seat.

Kunam was arrested on July 30 - the day his flight arrived in Newark - and was taken into federal custody by the FBI, prosecutors stated.

The abusive sexual contact charge carries a maximum potential penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine, prosecutors said.

A Virgin America representative provided Patch with the following statement about the incident:

"Crew on board Virgin America Flight 170 from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Newark International Airport (EWR), which departed on July 30, were alerted to reports of a disruptive individual who was accused of inappropriately touching a fellow passenger. Our crew are trained for such situations, and they immediately moved the individual in question to another seat, monitored him to ensure he did not move from his seat, and alerted law enforcement, who were waiting for the aircraft when it arrived at EWR."

File Photo: Flickr Commons