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'".
The high-flyer said he concocted the plan with a friend who worked at the airport “just for a laugh”, adding he was pleasantly surprised that his precious cargo survived the four-hour journey to Perth.
An Indian-origin boy with an allergy to dairy products has died after suffering a severe reaction to a piece of cheese allegedly forced on him in his school, prompting an investigation by the Metropolitan Police.
A Pakistani man has shot dead his sister and her daughter after his sibling got married for a fourth time following three divorces, in the latest case of honour killing in the country.
In 2015, about 36,318 Indians adjusted their status to permanent residency while 27,798 Indians are new arrivals who received lawful permanent residency in the form of a Green Card, Pew Research said.
WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hold a bilateral meeting with U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence later this week while they're both visiting a conference of U.S. state governors.
Donald Trump's campaign tried getting help from Vladimir Putin's government to win an American election, as revealed in emails released Tuesday in a watershed moment following a year-long controversy over suspected Russian election-meddling.
