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A passenger aboard a flight bound for Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday was arrested by federal agents on charges that he molested the female passenger seated next to him while she slept.
Saurabh Agarwal, a 39-year-old resident of Sterling, Va., was arrested by an on-board marshal after he allegedly grabbed his seatmate’s breasts and touched other parts of her body, according to an affidavit by an FBI agent who took custody of Agarwal after the American Airlines flight from Miami landed at National.
“After sleeping for a while,” the affidavit reads, the victim “awoke to find Saurabh Agarwal hugging her body, with his hand inside her bra, fondling her breast.” The victim, who is identified only as “R.C.L.”, pretended to stay asleep out of fear, the agent said. However, that just encouraged further molestation.
As the victim feigned sleep, Agarwal allegedly continued the physical attack by squeezing her hand and nipple simultaneously. The agent alleges that Agarwal only backed off when a flight attendant approached with the beverage cart, at which point he attempted to order glasses of scotch for both himself and the victim.
The victim eventually got up and made her way to the back of the plane where she alerted the flight crew to what was going on. After the victim reported the alleged assault, the on-board marshal arrested Agarwal, who was then turned over to airport police upon landing at National, and finally to the FBI.
Agarwal was formally charged yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison.
