A MAN HAS BEEN JAILED AFTER HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED A 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL ON HIS FLIGHT TO HEATHROW.
Javed Inamdar, aged 34, was involved in an incident aboard a British Airways flight traveling from Mumbai to Heathrow in December of the previous year.The Isleworth Crown Court was informed that the businessman, who manages shipping operations, initially tested boundaries by touching the young girl’s hand, before later making contact with her chest while she was asleep.
The victim, a schoolgirl, woke up crying and shouted at the top of her lungs, urging the offender to ‘get the f*** away from me’.
During the overnight flight over the Pacific Ocean.
According to cabin supervisor Rebecca Rooney, she observed the girl ‘appearing visibly upset’, with her knees drawn up and hugging herself, shortly after midnight on December 14.
Ms Rooney recounted to the court that she questioned the girl, who explained that the man seated beside her had pushed his hands inside her jumper and touched her breast.
The flight attendants then moved the man into a different seat at the rear of the aircraft, court proceedings revealed.
Michelle Adams, another flight attendant, was assigned to handle Inamdar following the incident.
Inamdar claimed he believed the girl to be his wife and that he had simply fallen asleep cuddling her.
He maintained he was asleep during the assault.
He also told police he had attempted to clarify the situation with a flight attendant, describing the incident as a misunderstanding.
During his police interview, Inamdar questioned how anyone could recall specifics of the event, suggesting that accidental contact could have occurred, but insisted there was no intention involved.
Despite denying a charge of assaulting a girl under 13 by touch, the jury convicted him.
Inamdar, who appeared in court with an interpreter and became emotional, was present for sentencing.
His lawyer, Lee Sergent, highlighted that Inamdar came from India, had achieved some success helping his family, and was on bail because his employers supported him with accommodation.
He emphasised that his client’s restrictions under bail were harsher than normal, preventing him from visiting his wife or children, and that a suspended sentence would result in immediate deportation.
The judge, Simon Davis, sentenced Inamdar to 21 months in prison, noting the case’s tragic impact on the young girl and condemning his actions as outrageous.
He stated that Inamdar had attempted to test her boundaries and, despite protests, ran away, making up explanations as a defence.
The judge reduced the sentence citing Inamdar’s current inability to communicate fully with his family while in the UK, considering this a significant mitigating factor.
After the sentence was handed down, Inamdar, led away, called out: ‘I need to call my wife to let her know what is happening.’
