A New Jersey resident has been charged with sexual assault following an incident on a flight from Bozeman, Montana to Dallas, Texas. The U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme announced that Bhaveshkumar Dahyabhai Shukla, 36, from Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey, faces a charge of abusive sexual contact under the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States.
If found guilty, Shukla could face two years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a minimum of five years of supervised release. The arraignment is set for April 17, 2025.
According to the indictment, Shukla allegedly had non-consensual sexual contact with another person on January 26, 2025, during an American Airlines flight. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is spearheading the prosecution, with the investigation conducted by the FBI, ICE, and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Police.
As stated, "the charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
Case details can be followed through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system under the reference 25-08. For electronic document access, a PACER account is required, and registration can be done at http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. The court's schedule is available at https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
