Eun Jong Lee, 47, of Ithaca was brought before a judge in U.S. District Court in Newark this afternoon.
The FBI charged him with abusive sexual contact.
“While the plane was in the air, the woman — who did not know Lee — fell asleep,” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said this afternoon. “She awoke to find Lee’s hand on the front of her shirt, touching her breast through her clothing.
“Lee then touched the skin of her neck and attempted to place his hand down the front of the woman’s shirt,” Fishman said.
“After asking Lee to stop touching her, the woman reported the incident to a [United Airlines] flight crew member and provided the crew member a written statement describing what happened,” he added.
The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over in-flight sex crimes aboard American airliners, the U.S. attorney noted.
Fishman credited the FBI and thanked the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for its role in the case.
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