A California man was sentenced to two years in prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting of a woman on a flight from London to Seattle in 2018.
Babak Rezapour, of Van Nuys, California, was sentenced Friday in federal court in Seattle, U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran said in a news release.
Rezapour, 43, was convicted in January of abusive sexual contact in a special aircraft jurisdiction and abusive sexual contact with an incapacitated victim. The jury convicted him following a five-day jury trial in which Rezapour denied the allegations.
The charges said Rezapour repeatedly assaulted a 22-year-old woman on the flight on Jan. 10, 2018.
Rezapour Denied That He Had Touched the Woman but Witnesses Said Otherwise
The woman had taken prescribed anti-anxiety and anti-nausea medicine and drank two glasses of wine, including one Rezapour bought for her, court documents said. Afterward, she “described feeling hazy and had difficulty remaining awake.”
The complaint states that a Norwegian Air crew member later found the woman “visibly shaken and crying,” near the restrooms. The woman told the crew member what happened, and she was moved to the front of the plane, documents said.
Rezapour denied that he had touched the woman but witnesses said otherwise. Laboratory tests showed that his DNA was inside the woman’s underwear, according to the court records.
