I suppose I'm getting involved with this is because I will actually shoot someone who abuses little children. On the other hand, if this is a scam, if I were the Indian, I'd sue the family for everything they had plus NW for everything they had.
Here is the AP version of the incident. In the next couple of days take a look at the Detroit Free Press site at
www.freep.com to see if this guy makes bail or not.
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Indian national accused of fondling girl aboard Northwest flight
August 7, 2001, 7:27 PM
DETROIT (AP) -- A man returning to his native India was arrested after allegedly fondling the 10-year-old girl seated next to him on a Northwest Airlines flight, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Ravichandra Thuluva, 28, was arrested Saturday evening at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after Flight 1186 arrived there from Kansas City, Mo., FBI Special Agent Terry Booth said in an affidavit.
The girl was alone on the plane after visiting her grandparents in Kansas City. After arriving in her native Michigan, she told her stepfather that a man had touched her genitals and her breast while sitting next to her, Moore said.
"The victim advised me that she told the man to stop numerous times when he attempted to touch her," Moore wrote in a criminal complaint. "The victim states that she was too scared to tell anyone on the airplane of the sexual contact but did tell her stepfather as soon as she saw him in Detroit."
The stepfather alerted Northwest officials, who in turn notified airport police. They detained Thuluva, whom the girl identified in person and from his Kansas driver's license photo.
Thuluva denied touching the girl inappropriately, Moore said. But he did tell the FBI agent that he placed his hand on the girl's right upper thigh for about two minutes to "calm" her while the plane was taking off. He said he later placed his hand on her upper thigh for about 11/2 minutes when the plane encountered turbulence.
Thuluva's attorney, James Thomas of Detroit, declined comment Tuesday.
Thuluva told authorities that he was a computer consultant who was flying home to India from Kansas City via Detroit and Amsterdam.
Thuluva was arraigned Monday on charges of sexually abusing a minor aboard an aircraft, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, U.S. Attorney Alan M. Gershel said in a statement.
U.S. Magistrate Donald Scheer ruled at a hearing Monday that Thuluva was a danger to the community and a flight risk, and ordered him held without bond pending further investigation.
Northwest says it is cooperating with local and federal officials.
"Everyone at Northwest is greatly saddened by this incident. Northwest has pledged to the minor's family that we will continue to work with the authorities on the investigation," the airline said in a statement Tuesday.
The incident underscores the need for airlines to develop uniform rules governing treatment of unaccompanied children, said Todd Curtis, founder of AirSafe.com, a Web site that provides consumers with information about airline safety and related issues.
"I have no idea how often this happens," Curtis said. "But if the feds are involved, I'm happy. There's a better chance of this being brought to the attention of the country as a whole."