A Mesa man, Kepueli Talaiasi, was indicted in Alaska on Thursday for abusive sexual contact with a minor female passenger on a flight from Phoenix to Anchorage on April 26.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the 58-year-old Talaiasi intentionally engaged in sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl who was seated next to him during the evening flight.
According to court documents, the girl pushed his hand away several times and tried to move away from him in her seat. The minor, who was travelling with her father, wrote a note to him on her phone about Talaiasi touching her. The father immediately called the flight attendants, who quickly intervened to separate Talaiasi from the girl.
Alaska Airport Police met the flight upon arrival at the gate and detained Talaiasi, who was later arrested by the FBI.
If convicted, Talaiasi faces a maximum sentence of up to two years in prison, followed by five years to lifetime supervised release.