A 74-year-old man from Florida has reached a plea deal with prosecutors over allegations he sexually assaulted a flight attendant by putting his hand up her skirt while she was sitting on her jumpseat during takeoff.
Gary Sorichetti is expected to plea to one count of abusive sexual conduct after he was arrested in April following a lengthy FBI investigation into the incident, which took place in early 2020 onboard a regional American Airlines flight from Sarasota to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Sorichetti was sitting at the very back of a Bombardier CRU-900 regional jet, which was operated by PSA Airlines on behalf of AA and is configured in a 2-2 seat layout.
An affidavit submitted by the FBI explains how Sorichetti, who is described as a ‘large’ man, was assigned a seat next to another passenger on the left-hand side of the aircraft and ended up ‘squishing’ up next to the flight attendant ‘multiple times’ when he had to get up during boarding to let that passenger access their seat.
After boarding was complete, the flight attendant noticed that the two seats on the right-hand side of the aircraft were free and invited Sorichetti to sit in the window seat with a free seat beside him.
Sorichetti got up from his seat and then allegedly placed both of his hands on the flight attendant’s hips for a few seconds. He then took his seat by the window but then moved to the aisle seat which is right next to the flight attendant’s jump seat.
The flight attendant again suggested Sorichetti should sit in the window seat but he declined the offer, telling the victim that he was “lucky” to be sitting next to her, before commenting on her perfume and trying to engage her in a conversation about politics.
During takeoff, and while the flight attendant had adopted the mandated semi-brace position with her legs uncrossed, Sorichetti allegedly touched her right knee and then ‘dragged’ his hand up her thigh before touching her crotch.
The flight attendant immediately reported the alleged assault to another flight attendant at the front of the aircraft and the police were called and waiting to meet the airplane on arrival in Charlotte.
Details of the plea deal are yet to be released by the court.
