A man charged with assaulting a flight attendant who was drying the thigh of a woman seated next to him on a flight from Seattle has been sentenced to home detention and fines for months.
Two U.S. judges, Miranda, ruled that 41-year-old David Parkhurst was held at home for six months and awarded $49,000 in damages for assault and obstruction of business. In addition, he was sentenced to five years of probation.
Parkhurst, a resident of Gardnerville, Nevada, groped the inner thigh of a female passenger seated next to her on a flight from Seattle to Las Vegas on October 31, 2019, without permission.
When the woman noticed this and stopped him by slapping his hand, she began to assault the woman, including punching her, and the flight attendant rushed in and pulled him off the woman.
After that, considering the safety of passengers, the plane made an emergency landing at Renault-Tahoe International Airport before arriving in Las Vegas, where it was originally scheduled, and handed over Parkhurst to the police.
Parkhurst pleaded guilty in February for obstruction of duty and simple assault on the plane.