Spirit Airlines passenger allegedly sexually assaulted a woman while she slept on a plane

A male passenger on a Spirit Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Detroit was arrested after a female passenger accused him of sexually assaulting her while she was asleep.
Federal prosecutors claim in a criminal complaint filed Wednesday that the woman was sleeping against a window when the man, Prabhu Ramamoorthy, unbuttoned her shirt, unzipped her pants, and groped her.
Spirit Airlines told Business Insider it is cooperating with law enforcement.

A male passenger on a Spirit Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Detroit was arrested after a female passenger accused him of sexually assaulting her while she was asleep, according to a criminal complaint filed on Wednesday.

The man, Prabhu Ramamoorthy, was charged with aggravated sexual abuse. Federal prosecutors claim in the complaint that the 22-year-old woman was sleeping against a window when Ramamoorthy unbuttoned her shirt, unzipped her pants, and repeatedly stuck his hand in her pants. After the woman woke up, he stopped, according to the complaint.

Feds also claim in the complaint that flight attendants noticed the woman was "visibly upset" and "crying" when she reported the incident.

After the flight landed in Detroit, Ramamoorthy was taken into custody by local authorities and in an interview with a law enforcement official said that he "might have" un-done the woman's bra and touched her breasts, according to the criminal complaint.

The complaint also claims that Ramamoorthy said he partially unzipped the woman's pants.

In his initial written statement, Ramamoorthy said he was in "deep sleep" and wasn't sure where his hand had gone after the woman fell asleep on his knees, according to the criminal complaint.

"We are fully cooperating with law enforcement and refer any questions to them at this time," Spirit said in a statement to Business Insider.

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