US-based Indian gets 9 years imprisonment for sexual assault  

Detroit: NP NEWS 24 ONLINE: On 13^th December Thursday, an Indian techie form Tamil Nadu working in the US on a work visa has been sentenced for nine years imprisonment for sexually assaulting a sleeping woman during an overnight flight to Detroit.

According to the incident, 35-year-old Prabhu Ramamoorthy was in the middle seat between the victim and his wife on a Spirit Airlines flight from Las Vegas last January where according to the 23-year-old victim, he unzipped her pants, unbuttoned her shirt and molested her with his hands.

In her trial, she explained that when woke up during the flight, she saw his inside her clothes which petrified her.

On 3^rd January, government presented evidences demonstrating that Ramamoorthy had digitally penetrated the woman sleeping next to him during the overnight flight.

Ramamoorthy was later convicted in August after a five-day trial that was conducted before United States District Judge Terrence Berg. The jury deliberated approximately three-and-a-half hours before returning the guilty verdict.

Whereas, Ramamoorthy denied to make any statement before the sentence where the jury respected the silence as it’s his right.

Initially, prosecutor asked 11 years of imprisonment but US District Judge Terrence Berg settled on a nine-year term with a hope it would be “grave enough” to prevent others from committing this crime.

According to Matthew Schneider, US Attorney, “Everyone has the right to be secure and safe when they travel on airplanes. We appreciate the victim in this case for her courage to speak out.”

After serving his sentence, he will be deported to India.

According to the FBI report, airplane sexual assault is a serious offence which is growing. Static shows that mid-air sexual offences have increased by 66% from 2014-2017.

The report also added that according to mental health professionals, victims who are violated in confined spaces feel even more helpless, vulnerable and powerless. Victims may also feel intimidated by the person sitting next to them since the seating arrangement means that the perpetrator is effectively blocking the victim from getting up.