<p>An Indian origin man has been charged with simple assault for allegedly groping a sleeping fellow female passenger for about five minutes on a flight from London to San Francisco.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Vinay Pochampally molested the victim by placing his hand down the woman's shirt two hours into British Airways Flight 285 last Tuesday, according to a US District Court criminal complaint cited by the Smoking Gun.<br /><br />It is unclear whether Pochampally is a US citizen, nor do court records identify his lawyer, the investigative news site said.<br /><br />The female passenger was seated in row 37, behind which was a "bulkhead of the galley and restroom area".<br /><br />During the flight, Pochampally, who was assigned a seat in row 36 of the Boeing 747, "positioned himself in the gap behind row 37 and in front of the bulkhead", reported FBI Agent Bianca Betz in a sworn affidavit cited by the news site.<br /><br />"While in that gap, Pochampally inserted his hand, palm-side down, into the shirt of the sleeping female passenger," noted Betz.<br /><br />Pochampally's hand was "underneath the passenger's shirt and undergarments for approximately four to five minutes, making skin-to-skin contact in the breast and upper chest area," added Betz.<br /><br />When the victim awoke, Pochampally -- who was reportedly intoxicated -- quickly removed his hand from her shirt and ran away down the plane's aisle.<br /><br />According to the criminal complaint, "multiple passengers witnessed the incident" and told crew members what occurred.<br /><br />British Airways workers confronted Pochampally upon learning of the molestation incident and directed him to move to a different seat for the remainder of the 10-hour trip.<br /><br />Pochampally was charged with simple assault in a misdemeanour complaint filed Tuesday in San Francisco federal court, according to the Smoking Gun.</p>
<p>An Indian origin man has been charged with simple assault for allegedly groping a sleeping fellow female passenger for about five minutes on a flight from London to San Francisco.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Vinay Pochampally molested the victim by placing his hand down the woman's shirt two hours into British Airways Flight 285 last Tuesday, according to a US District Court criminal complaint cited by the Smoking Gun.<br /><br />It is unclear whether Pochampally is a US citizen, nor do court records identify his lawyer, the investigative news site said.<br /><br />The female passenger was seated in row 37, behind which was a "bulkhead of the galley and restroom area".<br /><br />During the flight, Pochampally, who was assigned a seat in row 36 of the Boeing 747, "positioned himself in the gap behind row 37 and in front of the bulkhead", reported FBI Agent Bianca Betz in a sworn affidavit cited by the news site.<br /><br />"While in that gap, Pochampally inserted his hand, palm-side down, into the shirt of the sleeping female passenger," noted Betz.<br /><br />Pochampally's hand was "underneath the passenger's shirt and undergarments for approximately four to five minutes, making skin-to-skin contact in the breast and upper chest area," added Betz.<br /><br />When the victim awoke, Pochampally -- who was reportedly intoxicated -- quickly removed his hand from her shirt and ran away down the plane's aisle.<br /><br />According to the criminal complaint, "multiple passengers witnessed the incident" and told crew members what occurred.<br /><br />British Airways workers confronted Pochampally upon learning of the molestation incident and directed him to move to a different seat for the remainder of the 10-hour trip.<br /><br />Pochampally was charged with simple assault in a misdemeanour complaint filed Tuesday in San Francisco federal court, according to the Smoking Gun.</p>