Morris Co. Man Who Groped Woman On Airplane Is Sentenced

PARSIPPANY, NJ — A Parsippany man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a passenger on an airplane has been sentenced to prison, officials said.

Bhaveshkumar Dahyabhai Shukla, 40, of Lake Hiawatha, pleaded guilty in July to one count of abusive sexual contact in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States.

On Thursday, Shukla was sentenced to more than eight months in prison and five years of supervision upon release by a Montana judge. Montana officials said that Shukla, who is originally from India, will likely be deported when he is released.

According to court documents, the incident occurred on a Jan. 26 flight from Bozeman, Montana, to Dallas, Texas, on American Airlines.

Shukla was seated next to a woman, referred to as Jane Doe by officials, and her daughter. Authorities said that Shukla had pretended to sleep while using his coat as a blanket, and proceeded to “rub Jane Doe’s left leg near her pocket on her hip.”

Doe thought Shukla was trying to pick her pocket, and took her daughter to the bathroom to “diffuse the situation,” according to officials.

Doe returned to her seat, and Shukla continued to rub her leg throughout the flight. Doe confronted him, saying, “Stop touching me.” However, Shukla continued to grope her. When Doe turned her back to him, he proceeded to rub her lower back and buttocks, according to court documents.

Shukla also tried to speak to Doe’s daughter, to which Doe responded, “She’s fine, don’t talk to my daughter,” officials said.

A witness sitting behind Doe and Shukla confirmed that he had been inappropriately touching Doe for the majority of the flight.

The investigation into the incident was conducted by the FBI, ICE, and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Police. Shukla was charged in a one-count indictment with abusive sexual contact in April.