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.
Deepak Jahagirdar - an absolute pig!
The judge should go over his immigration papers with a fine toothed comb and hopefully kick him out of the US.
Whenever I read one of these stories about truly inexplicable behavior, what caused him to try this and how many times had he done it before and gotten away with it.
More likely it was the voices inside his head. A woman would ask a random stranger on a plane to cop a feel of her genitals under a blanket? I don't think so.
Alternatively, if he was right, and all it takes to get felt up is asking, think of all the great opportunities for handjobs from random anonymous women I've missed over the years...
NOT!!!
What a freakin' A$$HOLE JERK. Toss him overboard.
"covered her with a blanket, unbuttoned her pants and had his hand inside her"
Something seems odd here - or is it me?
Whenever some Mohammedan whines about the US and its perverse sexual ways, ask him if the promise of 72 virgins for eternity if one blows themself up is perverse.
India is in Asia.
Hopefully he will have quite a few instances of the second part of "Do unto others..." while in prison.
I take it to mean he was copping a feel, and I presume they meant "finger" or "fingers" not "hand".
And as an aside, the woman must be a helluva sound sleeper to not notice somebody's got her pants open and diddling her, but that's beside the point.
Does seem odd from the news blip. If someone unbuttoned my britches, I think I would wake up REAL fast. But who knows the truth here...get short, filtered, biased media short.......make immediate judgement determination.....condem perp......feel good about self.
"DeePak" isn't this the same name as one of the guys in Aruba?
How he accomplished this without waking her seems odd. She is a very sound sleeper. I'm also surprised she didn't smash the guys face into the seatback tray.
Who knows? She might have been drinking or had sleeping pills for the flight, and fell asleep hard. She shouldn't get the blame for his weirdness, regardless.
Sorry - thanks for playing!
Well, maybe his family.
According to his testimony, feeling up a "willing" woman on a plane is OK by Hindu standards?
I know he wasn't a Mohammedan, but the poster I replied to referenced Mohammedan culture, hence my post.
Deepak in deep doo doo
Not dismissing his "weirdness" at all. But, I have become extremely sceptical of news souces in my later years. Maybe she was passed out or something. Still....all news sources and all courts are suspect until proven otherwise.
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