California man arrested after groping two women on JetBlue flight, officials say
A California man was arrested after allegedly groping two women on a JetBlue flight from Los Angeles to Boston.
Jairaj Singh Dhillon, 42, was approximately 30 minutes into an overnight flight between the two cities this week when he allegedly touched a woman’s “thigh and groin area while she was taking care of her infant child who was in a car seat in the window seat next to her,” according to a news release from the Department of Justice. The woman also yelled for her husband, who was on the flight.
“The first victim allegedly called for help and stated out loud, ‘this man just groped me,’” according to the release. “The second victim, who was seated in the aisle seat opposite Dhillon, reported that Dhillon allegedly reached out with both hands and simultaneously grabbed her groin and buttocks when she was standing in the aisle.”
Dhillon told officials he did not remember any unwanted sexual contact with either of the women, according to an FBI affidavit in the case. He also said he took the medication Ambien to help him sleep during the flight and that he was not attracted to the first woman and “would not have desired to touch her because of his lack of attraction.”
Delta Airlines: First-class passenger allegedly assaulted flight attendant, used homophobic slurs
California: A woman punched a Southwest flight attendant. Now, she faces 15 months in prison.
Crew on the flight moved Dhillon to another part of the plane next to an empty seat, and he was arrested when the flight landed at Boston Logan International Airport. He was charged with two counts of abusive sexual contact while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, officials confirmed.
The charge carries a sentence of up to three years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. It was not immediately clear if Dhillon has an attorney in the case.
USA TODAY has reached out to JetBlue for comment.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California man accused of groping women on JetBlue flight to Boston
