Earlier today, at the United States District Court in Brooklyn, New York, Nadeem Mehmood Quraishi was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment following his April 21, 2016, conviction following a jury trial for sexual assault aboard an international flight.
The sentence was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.
The evidence at trial established that Quraishi sexually assaulted a woman aboard an international flight bound for John F. Kennedy International Airport from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He did this after the victim had taken prescription medication and while she slept. When confronted by flight attendants shortly after the assault, the defendant admitted that he had applied the victim’s lotion to her genital area as she was sleeping.
“The defendant’s assault of this victim was an outrageous affront to what should have been a safe and peaceful passage on an international flight," stated United States Attorney Capers. “To anyone who would commit such a crime be on notice - you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
“Being on an airplane for an extended period of time can be stressful because passengers are told they can relax, even while surrounded by complete strangers in a confined space. The victim in this case was at her most vulnerable being asleep, and Quraishi took full advantage. It’s unfair to ask passengers to keep their wits about them for more than half a day in the air, which is why we take crimes aboard aircraft so seriously," stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez.
The sentencing proceeding took place before United States District Judge Carol B. Amon.
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nomi D. Berenson.
The Defendant:
NADEEM MEHMOOD QURAISHI
Age: 43
Staten Island, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-596 (CBA)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
