A New Jersey man is disputing charges that he sexually abused a woman while she slept on a U.S. airplane. According to prosecutors, the woman woke up to the man’s hands up her shirt and inside her shorts. While he does not deny that there was sexual contact, the man claims that the contact was consensual and, therefore, did not break any laws.

This case is interesting for two reasons: 1) The alleged incident occurred in the air; and 2) The man is a former immigrant who fled Turkey more than 30 years ago.

First, let’s look at what it means that the alleged crime took place during a cross-country flight. According to research by federal prosecutors completed in 2003, 12.5 percent of all criminal allegations on airplanes involve sexual assault. And all of those sex assault cases are handled by federal prosecutors. Why? Events on flights in the U.S. are outside of the states’ jurisdiction and handled exclusively by the federal government.

This is important because federal charges for sex crimes can be more stringent than state charges. For example, if the New Jersey man is convicted of sexual abuse, he can face up to a $250,000 fine and life in prison. While it is unlikely he will receive these penalties (a Georgia man received six months in federal prison for a similar charge last September), they still pose a risk to him.

The second issue involves the man’s citizenship. The chances are very slim that he would be stripped of his U.S. citizenship and deported back to Turkey for sexual assault. If, however, he was not yet a citizen and was here on a visa or as a legal permanent resident, he would potentially face deportation for sexual assault if a court determined that the sexual assault was a crime of moral turpitude.

If you face sexual abuse charges, whether you were in the air or on the ground, and whether you are a citizen, an LPR or have another immigration status, you need strong defense from an experienced criminal defense lawyer.

Source: CNN Justice, “New Jersey man charged with sexually abusing sleeping woman on plane,” Rande Laboni, Aug. 30, 2012.

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