Posted on 08/04/2005 7:10:09 PM PDT by Graybeard58
BOSTON - An Arizona man was sentenced Thursday to more than seven years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman sleeping next to him on an airline flight - an incident the judge called a "disgusting, despicable" crime.
Deepak Jahagirdar, 55, a former health care executive from Scottsdale, Ariz., was convicted in April of sexually abusing and having abusive sexual contact with the woman, then 22.
U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf rejected a bid by Jahagirdar's lawyers to sentence him to probation and community service.
Wolf chastised Jahagirdar for lying when he testified at his trial that the woman initiated a sexual encounter with him. He also blasted Jahagirdar for failing to mention the victim or express any remorse when he asked for mercy before he was sentenced.
"You've deeply and painfully hurt another person, and you seem to have no appreciation for that, even now, whatsoever," Wolf said.
Wolf sentenced Jahagirdar to the precise term sought by prosecutors, 87 months. He also imposed two years of probation and a $25,000 fine.
The woman was traveling alone and returning to Boston from a vacation in Texas in March 2002, when she said she awoke to find that Jahagirdar had covered her with a blanket, unbuttoned her pants and had his hand inside her.
The woman left her seat and alerted the flight crew. Jahagirdar was arrested by Massachusetts State Police when the flight landed at Logan International Airport in Boston.
The case was transferred from state to federal court because the assault occurred in mid flight.
The woman, now 25, did not speak at the sentencing hearing. She wiped away tears after Wolf announced the sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John McNeil said the woman has been traumatized by the incident and remains "deeply afraid." McNeil criticized Jahagirdar for telling the jury that the woman initiated sexual contact.
"What he did is what every sexual assault victim fears most. He turned the tables on her ... he said she was some sort of harlot and wanted to be sexually aroused on an airplane," he said.
Jahagirdar told the judge he and his wife immigrated from India 25 years ago. He his family has always tried to live their lives according to Hindu principles, including love, service, peace and nonviolence.
He said his life fell apart when he was arrested, and asked the judge to show leniency.
"I promise you that I will serve my family, my church and the community at large with every fiber of my being," he said.
Jahagirdar has 10 days to file a notice of appeal.
"No Babu! No Babu! You bad man! You very bad man! You very lazy bad man!"
No argument there.
I made my own assessment of the situation based on the relative probabilities of a) him being a lying sleazebag married businessman on a place next to a sleeping young woman, and taking advantage of her, versus b) her being a lying slut with a fantasy of being diddled on an airplane, and finding a willing partner -- and then claiming sexual assault. I'd say 95+% likelihood of (a) being the true one.
I don't need to depend too much on the veracity of the newspaper account for that assessment; just the quotes from the judge and the perp.
place == plane
He said his life fell apart when he was arrested, and asked the judge to show leniency.
"I promise you that I will serve my family, my church and the community at large with every fiber of my being," he said.
Bwahahahaha...the rewards of diversity...
My older sister has slept through earthquakes in California that caused her bed to end up in the middle of the room. She slept through a fire alarm despite its flashing light and shrieking (thank God there wasn't really a fire). Some people just sleep so hard that a nuclear bomb won't wake them up.
Are you THAT territorial?
> Are you THAT territorial?
Ahhh-hh-h... [sigh] ... I remember when my girlfriend (now my ex-wife) would inch over from her side of the bed and wake me up... I'd pretend to be asleep, 'cause she'd have to try that much harder to, ahem, get my attention.
Them's was the days...
Now what if Deepok was a 22 year old white kid from upstate New York..... just what if... Or better yet, what if it was a 55 year old woman and a young man? In my book we are all equal. And just because your a young college chick doesn't make you any less capable of transgressions from normalcy.
Not all people are created equal; some men are less deserving than other men- they destroy, they lack will, they are sloth; and just as there are worthless men there are worthless women.
can is suppose to be can't
I have to sleep very close to my wife , of neccesity.
That's where the covers are.
LOL. I hear ya there.
Here's a bit more on this from PR Newswire:
... The young woman was returning from a vacation in Texas, was traveling alone, and was to be met at Logan Airport by her parents.
Point 1: I doubt a young woman who is going to be met by her parents is going to initiate stupid hand-sex on the plane with a random stranger. His audacity in making that claim is astounding.
She fell asleep early in the flight and awoke to find that JAHAGIRDAR had covered her with a blanket, unfastened her seatbelt, unbuttoned her pants and had his hand down her pants and in her genitals. The woman immediately pulled JAHAGIRDAR's hand from her pants,......Subsequent testing of skin cells taken from JAHAGIRDAR's hands revealed that a significant quantity of the victim's DNA was present on his hands.
Point 2: I wonder what he was doing with his other hand while his one hand was down her pants. Probably the other hand had his DNA all over it too.
Eewww. I wish I hadn't thought of that.
I keep saying, "the damn seats are just too close together on these airplanes".
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