A 39-year-old man has been charged with sexually harassing a female passenger and performing a lewd act during a 13-hour flight from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to Boston on Tuesday.
Krishna Kunapuli, who is an Indian citizen, has been charged with one count of lewd, indecent, and obscene acts and, if found guilty, faces a maximum sentence of up to 90 days in prison plus a $5,000 fine.
Prosecutors allege that Kunapuli made unwanted sexual advances toward a female passenger during the ultra-long-haul flight before openly masturbating in front of several other passengers.
The female victim told FBI investigators at Boston Logan Airport that she had been quietly in her seat aboard Etihad Airways flight EY7 when Kunapuli approached her and asked to sit in a spare seat beside her while he waited for a lavatory to become available.
After taking the seat next to the victim, Kunapuli started to compliment the victim on her looks, telling her she was beautiful and offering her $5,000 if she was willing to spend the night with him in Boston.
After bragging about his wealth, Kunapuli started to touch the victim’s hair and brush it with his fingers. The victim made an excuse to go to the galley to speak to a flight attendant but when she got there, she found no crew members in sight.
Kunapuli followed the victim into the galley and continued to invade her personal space, touching her hair and complimenting her on her looks despite the victim’s requests for him to stop.
A crew member eventually entered the galley, but initially, they thought Kunapuli and the victim were “romantically involved” because they noticed Kunapuli touching the victim’s breast.
It was only when the victim tried to get away from Kunapuli that they realized something was amiss. They then intervened when they noticed Kunapuli taking photos of the victim without her permission.
After learning that Kunapuli had been bothering the victim, the flight attendant sent them both back to their respective seats, but this didn’t stop Kunapuli’s lewd behavior, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
Around four hours into the flight, a male passenger who was sitting near Kunapuli began to suspect that he was masturbating under his blanket while watching a video on his phone.
That suspicion was confirmed when the blanket moved, and Kunapuli’s penis was exposed. Kunapuli, however, allegedly continued to masturbate in full view of other passengers for around 10 minutes before he eventually stopped when a flight attendant challenged him.
The crew of Etihad flight EY7 radioed ahead to request law enforcement meet the aircraft of arrival, and Kunapuli was taken into custody shortly after the plane landed in Boston at around 9 am on October 22nd.
