Man faces prison time after sexually assaulting woman on flight to Myrtle Beach, SC
A man sexually assaulted a woman on a flight from Chicago to Myrtle Beach and now faces a couple of years in prison and possible deportation.
A federal jury in North Carolina convicted Siva K. Durbesula, of India, of abusive sexual contact aboard an airplane, federal officials say. He now faces up to two years in prison as his sentencing will be at a later date.
The assault happened in June 2019, when a 22-year-old woman said Durbesula assaulted her by pulling her towards his body and touching her breast, officials state. The incident happened aboard a Spirit Airlines flight from Chicago to South Carolina.
A second woman testified during the trial that she was assaulted by Durbesula in March 2019 on a subway train in New York City. The woman was pregnant at the time, according to officials.
Durbesula was charged in South Carolina, but the case was transferred to North Carolina as the flight flew over that state.
Derek Shoemake, spokesman for the US attorney’s office for South Carolina, said the trial’s transfer had no impact on the charges. “It just changed the physical place where the trial occurred,” he said.
Witnesses came from South Carolina, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida, and Arkansas to testify in court.
The sexual assault case in New York City is still pending on state charges. “They charged him in New York City. He was just on bond when this happened,” Shoemake said.
Shoemake said that after the assault, a flight attendant moved Durbesula to the front of the airplane. Horry County police arrested Durbesula once the plane landed.
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 2:45 PM with the headline "Man faces prison time after sexually assaulting woman on flight to Myrtle Beach, SC."
