British Man Accused Of Rape On Flight From New Jersey To London

A British man was arrested last week after a fellow passenger accused him of raping her on an overnight flight from New Jersey to London, reports said Wednesday. The woman complainant, 40, alleged he forced her for sex while travelling first-class on United Airlines. She reportedly raised the alarm to cabin crew and the accused was apprehended when the flight touched down on February 1.

Police were waiting at Heathrow airport early morning after being radioed by the flight crew that informed them about the alleged assault incident. The accused was taken into custody. He was later released under investigation as officials probe the woman's claims. The cabin in question was searched for forensic evidence, reports said.

The woman, also British, was interviewed by officials at a rape counselling suite.

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A source quoted in The Sun claimed the accused man and complainant woman were unknown to each other "but had apparently been seen talking to each other and drinking" both before and in the flight. They described the woman as "distraught" after the alleged rape incident and said that the cabin crew took her complaints seriously.

Though flight rape incidents are reported to be uncommon, a prominent case that came to light in 2018 sought to bring notice to the problem. An American Airlines passenger alleged she was harassed and sexually assaulted by her co-traveller on a domestic flight from Phoenix to New York in 2017.

The survivor, as per The Guardian, sued the carrier and claimed the flight crew failed to protect her. The airline offered her a sum of $5,000 and said they would review her allegations. Other passengers on the flight too claimed to have witnessed the accused harassing the complainant.

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American Airlines came into the spotlight again in 2020 when a flight attendant came forward with allegations that she was sexually assaulted by celebrity chef Mark Sargeant and her company punished her for reporting it. According to her, the incident occurred in a hotel room during a work trip to Germany in 2018. She claimed the carrier "discouraged" her from taking the complaint ahead and that she was removed from a role in the company after she did.

The woman sued both the chef and the carrier.