Two men sentenced for in-flight sexual assaults on Seattle-bound flights

Two men received prison sentences in U.S. District Court in Seattle for separate incidents of sexually assaulting passengers on flights to the city, according to the Department of Justice.

Indian citizen Abhinav Kumar, 39, was sentenced to 15 months in prison following his May 2024 conviction for abusive sexual contact.

Desmond D. Bostick received a nine-month sentence after pleading guilty to assault with intent to commit a felony in April 2024.

U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead imposed both sentences.

Kumar was arrested at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on February 18 after groping a 17-year-old girl on an Emirates flight from Dubai.

The victim was traveling with family members seated nearby.

Kumar was convicted after a three-day trial, where evidence showed he engaged the victim in conversation and later assaulted her while she was trying to sleep.

Prosecutors had asked for a 21-month sentence, arguing Kumar took advantage of a vulnerable teenager, causing her lasting trauma.

The victim described the assault as a “persistent, haunting presence” in her life.

In the second case, 25-year-old Bostick, from Federal Way, admitted to the sexual motivation behind his assault on a 24-year-old woman during a June 2023 Alaska Airlines flight from San Diego to Seattle.

Bostick repeatedly touched the victim on the thigh and buttocks.

After the flight, the victim reported the incident, leading to an investigation and Bostick’s arrest by the FBI in February 2024.

Prosecutors stressed the need for deterrence, highlighting the serious problem of sexual offenses on airplanes.

Judge Whitehead told Bostick, “To characterize your conduct as a ‘lapse of judgment’ would be to divorce your conduct from its true ugliness.”

Following his prison term, Bostick will serve three years of supervised release.

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