A Nevada man has pleaded guilty to groping and assaulting a woman on a flight from 2019, for which he could spend up to two decades in prison.
“During the flight, he assaulted another passenger,” federal prosecutors said.
“The resulting disturbance involved flight attendants and other passengers and interfered with the performance of the duties of the crew and flight attendants”, they added.
Daniel Parkhurst, aged 38 caused so much trouble on the Southwest Airlines flight from Seattle to Las Vegas on 31 October 2019, which was diverted to Reno in order to get him off the plane.
The man grabbed the inner part of the thigh of a woman while she was sleeping and when she woke up and asked him to stop, he responded by hitting her several times, the authorities point out.
The victim was moved to another seat and an after hours pilot sat or next to Parkhurst in an attempt to calm things down.
However, the defendant continued to harass other passengers, so the flight crew decided to land the plane in Reno.
Parkhurst pleaded guilty to one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants and one count of simple battery. He could spend up to 20 years in jail, he will be sentenced at a later date.
The case was investigated by the FBI, Reno-Tahoe International Airport Police Department, Nevada Attorney General’s Office, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and Carson City Sheriff’s Office.
For interference with flight crew members and attendants, the maximum legal penalty is of 20 years in prison, and six months in prison for simple assault in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States.
On June 24 Parkhurst will hear his sentence, which will be handed down by Judge Miranda M. Du.
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