Seattle (KONP staff) – A 43-year-old Van Nuys, California, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years in prison for sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman on a flight from London to Seattle.

Babak Rezapour was convicted on January 22 of abusive sexual contact with an incapacitated victim.

Court records show Rezapour sexually assaulted the woman while she was incapacitated from medication and alcohol on a Norwegian Air flight from London to Seattle in 2018. The victim had taken prescribed anti-anxiety and anti-nausea medication and drank two glasses of wine before becaming unusually sleepy.

She awoke to find Rezapour sexually assaulting her. Rezapour used his jacket to shield the activity from other passengers.

The victim fled to the back of the plane and reported the assault to flight attendants.

In court, Rezapour begged for lenience, saying he had a problem and needed help.