Sacramento man pleads guilty in passenger’s sexual assault on United Airlines flight to SFO

A Sacramento man pleaded guilty last week to sexually assaulting a passenger aboard an United Airlines international flight to San Francisco, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Rajesh Kumar Kapoor, 57, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of abusive sexual contact after he was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this year.

Kapoor admitted he touched a female victim’s inner thigh without her consent on a flight from Korea to San Francisco International Airport, authorities said. The plea included an admission that Kapoor intended to harass her while on the Jan. 16 flight, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern District of California.

“Sexual assault has no place in our society, not on the ground and not in the skies,” said United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey in a statement. “Airline passengers should not have to fear sexual assault while traveling.”

Kapoor’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kapoor is scheduled to be sentenced March 27. He faces two years in prison and a $250,000 fine, prosecutors said.

This story was originally published December 23, 2024 at 6:47 PM.