Indian descent man sentenced for sexually abusing boy on plane
Darpan News Desk IANS, 31 Jan, 2022 12:23 PM
New York, Jan 31 (IANS) A man of Indian descent has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after being found guilty of sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy, who took pictures of the assault on a plane, according to the Justice Department and media reports.
Judge Nancy E. Brasel handed down the sentence to Neeraj Chopra, 41, in a federal court in Minneapolis, acting prosecutor Charles J. Kovats said on Friday.
He was found guilty in July of the incident in April 2019 but sentenced only this month.
According to prosecutors, Chopra had used a blanket to cover his lap and and the right leg of the teen and "began inappropriately touching the victim" while on the flight from Boston to Minneapolis.
"Chopra ignored the victim's multiple requests to stop and continued to inappropriately touch the victim," prosecutors said.
The legal media outlet, Law & Crime, citing court papers reported that the victim was a boy who had asked Chopra to stop the abuse and when it continued took pictures of the assault, which were produced in court as evidence.
The victim's older brother, who was seated in a row in front of him, reported seeing his brother cry and alerted their father who switched seats with the victim, the publication said.
Chopra was met by law enforcement when the plane reached Minneapolis.
The publication reported that Chopra had "admitted to touching the boy inappropriately, but said it was because he was asleep and having a bad dream 'about a family member being killed'".
As per reports, the Grade IX student got upset and went missing after his mother chided him for watching a historical Hindi drama on YouTube and snatched his smartphone.
A video of a British Airways flight making a landing at the Skiathos Airport in Greece few yards away from tourists is going viral on the social media.
Mohammad Perwez, who lives with his family in Sharjah, left his house early in the morning on July 4 after his mother scolded him for watching YouTube late at night and took away his phone.
Senior presidential adviser Jared Kushner said having an immigration policy that would attract talented and meritorious people from across the world would create over $500 billion in tax revenues over 10 years.
Air Force Chief B S Dhanoa spoke about the operational limitations that existed in 1999 and the innovative ways adopted by the IAF to overcome the difficulties during the conflict.
