Lawyer of Indian techie who groped woman on US plane cites South Indian movie ‘Visaranai’ in court

Prabhu Ramamoorthy, 35, was convicted by a federal jury in Detroit.

Image: Twitter/ @PatriarchTree

New Delhi: A 35-year-old Indian IT manager has been convicted of sexually assaulting a sleeping woman aboard a Detroit-bound flight in the US. The convict now faces up to life in prison and if released, he will be deported to India. Prabhu Ramamoorthy, who worked for an IT company for over two years, will be sentenced on December 12 by US District Judge Terrence Berg, The Detroit News reported. The verdict came seven months after he assaulted the 22-year-old woman during a Spirit Airlines flight from Las Vegas while his wife sat in the next seat. A federal jury in Michigan's largest city Detroit convicted Ramamoorthy, who lived in Rochester Hills city, of sexually assaulting the woman. Following a five-day trial, the jury deliberated for less than four hours before convicting Prabhu Ramamoorthy, it said. "We will not tolerate the behaviour of anyone who takes advantage of victims who are in a vulnerable position, and we are glad the jury agreed," US Attorney Matthew Schneider said in a statement. "We appreciate the victim in this case for her courage to speak out," Schneider said. The woman said she was sitting in a window seat next to Prabhu Ramamoorthy, whose wife was in the aisle seat. The woman said that she fell asleep and woke up to discover a hand in her pants and noticed that her pants were unbuttoned and her shirt untied. When she woke up, the man stopped, and the woman alerted a flight attendant. Prabhu Ramamoorthy initially told investigators that he was in a deep sleep and did not do anything, it said. Later, he told an FBI agent he "might have" undone the woman's bra and cupped her breast, according to court records, the report added. The Washington Post reported that his attorney James Amberg said his client’s understanding of the legal process was based on Indian law. Ramamoorthy believed anything he told police was inadmissible in court, according to a motion Amberg filed to suppress Ramamoorthy’s statements. He also believed he would be tortured unless he gave incriminating statements, the motion said. Amberg cited “Visaranai,” a 2015 Indian film about corrupt police using violence to coerce guilty pleas, as evidence of Ramamoorthy’s belief he faced a similar threat in the United States. (with additional input from agencies)