VAN NUYS, CA– A 43-year-old Van Nuys, California, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years in prison for two federal felonies for his sexual assault of a young woman on a flight from London to Seattle, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. BABAK REZAPOUR was convicted on January 22, 2020, of abusive sexual contact in a special aircraft jurisdiction and abusive sexual contact with an incapacitated victim. The jury deliberated about two and a half hours following a five-day jury trial. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said the crime was “an evil act…. An awful, horrible, nightmare situation.”
“This defendant not only assaulted this young woman on the plane, his history shows escalating assaults on women even before this incident,” said U.S. Attorney Brian Moran. “I commend this brave victim who has endured the pain of describing this crime to first responders, investigators, and ultimately to the jury.”
According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, REZAPOUR
sexually assaulted the 20-year-old victim while she was incapacitated
from medication and alcohol on a Norwegian Air flight from London to
Seattle on January 10, 2018. The victim had taken prescribed
anti-anxiety and anti-nausea medication and drank a glass of wine. The
victim then accepted a second glass of wine purchased for her by
REZAPOUR. After drinking the second glass, the victim became unusually
sleepy. She awoke to find REZAPOUR sexually assaulting her. REZAPOUR
used his jacket to shield the activity from other passengers. The
victim fled to the back of the plane and reported the assault to flight
attendants.
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