A Georgia doctor has been charged with abusive sexual contact aboard an aircraft after he allegedly groped the crotch of the woman sat next to him on a Delta flight to Maine - whilst en route to propose to his girlfriend.
Prosecutors in Maine served Dr.
Jake Namjik Cho, 48, a Georgia based nephrology specialist, with a Summons on June 1, instructing him to appear in Maine federal court at 11 a.m. on June 8.
If convicted, Cho faces up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
When questioned about the alleged assault, Cho told the FBI that he meant to squeeze the passenger's upper thigh but his hand slipped 'because my glasses were off and it was dark.'
The criminal complaint, now unsealed, reveals the suspected assault occurred on Delta flight 2138 on March 17, which took off at 9:20 pm from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for the Portland International Jetport.
Dr.
Jake Namjik Cho, 48, was on a Delta plane heading toward Maine to propose when he alleged assaulted a female passenger
Cho has been charged with one count of abusive sexual contact aboard an aircraft and could face a $250,000 fine
Shortly after the plane landed, a woman who had been sitting in seat 17A told police that Cho, who was assigned to seat 17B, had 'continuously leaned into her seat area while appearing to be asleep.'
The complainant told investigators that Cho 'moved his hand onto the seat in the space between him and [the woman], with his hand in contact with her thigh and buttocks,' it says, adding that Cho 'also moved his feet into [the woman's] foot space and touched her feet with his feet.'
During the flight the plane experienced turbulence, according to the woman, who is not named in court documents.
Cho then allegedly 'appeared to have spasmed and reached over [the woman's] leg and down into her crotch,' the complaint continues.
He then 'touched the outside of [the woman's] genitals from the outside of her pants.'
The woman says she moved her body as far as she could away from Cho, which she says made his actions seem deliberate.
The woman said 'excuse me' and Cho pulled his hand away.
Cho 'appeared to be sleeping or pretending to sleep throughout,' according to the complaint.
The assault occurred on Delta flight 2138 on March 17, from Atlanta to Portland, prosecutors said
The complaint states upon Cho's return to Portland Jetport for his flight back to Atlanta two days later, the doctor was questioned by an FBI agent, a federal air marshal and a member of the Portland Police Department.
Cho denied the allegations when questioned by the officials, even disputing he spoke to the woman sitting next to him.
He also told investigators that he was a practicing medical doctor and had been in town to ask his girlfriend, JetBlack who lived in Maine, to marry him.
Cho then sat for a polygraph test at a second interview at the FBI offices in Portland where he accused the woman of making the story up.
However, he soon relented and admitted that he touched the passenger during the flight but insisted it was 'not sexual.'
In a signed statement, he said that once the aircraft took off, 'I began to relax and I stretched out my legs,' noting that at 'some point, I touched my left foot against her right foot and maintained the contact until I fell asleep,.'
'In addition to maintaining the foot contact, I used the contact to keep myself upright, as I have shorter legs.'
The doctor said he then fell asleep and when he awoke he was leaning on his left side facing the woman.
'At some point I saw her and reached out and grabbed her upper thigh with my left hand,' Cho's statement continues.
'I intended to only squeeze her upper right thigh and never intended to touch her crotch.
Because my glasses were off and it was dark, my hand slipped from her upper thigh to her crotch.
'As soon as I did this, she instantly exclaimed something loudly which caused me to remove my hand from her leg and sit straight up.'
Cho said he was 'so embarrassed and did not know what to do,' so he closed his eyes and tried to sleep for the remainder of the flight.
He also 'expressed regret for any harm he may have caused,' the complaint concludes.
In a statement Delta said the airline 'has zero tolerance for criminal activity of any type on our flights and at our airports.