A Missouri man was handed a 21-month prison sentence for groping and sexually harassing an emergency room nurse mid-flight.
Scott Russell Granden, 36, sexually harassed the nurse last year on 25 March when he boarded a flight from St Louis, Missouri, to Atlanta where he sat in the middle seat beside the victim.
He was convicted of repeatedly placing his “hand on her thigh” when the co-passenger dozed off after being “exhausted from a hectic day”, the Department of Justice release said.
He continued to touch her inappropriately and also tried to kiss her before a flight attendant responded to her complaint and moved Granden to a different seat.
US Attorney Kurt R Erskine said: “Passengers have the right to fly in peace and to expect that their personal dignity will be respected.”
“When this defendant started groping and sexually harassing the female passenger in the next seat, he humiliated and degraded her. We will not tolerate this type of behaviour on an airplane, and this sentence shows the consequences for such abusive sexual conduct.”
A newly released body camera footage released by Atlanta police officers showed Granden yelling racist and homophobic slurs to officers who arrested him at the airport, reported WSB-Tv.
He also pulled down his pants and yelled “Rape!”, it reported.
He pleaded guilty to the charges during the investigation and claimed he had taken an anxiety medication and alcohol before the flight. He said the pill made “him think [the victim] was his fiancee” but the statement was dismissed by the judge.
Granden has been sentenced to one year and nine months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. He will have to register as a sex offender.
