SALT LAKE CITY — A federal jury has convicted a Texas man of groping a woman on a flight headed to Salt Lake City.
Robert Sutherland MacLean, aka "Bobby," 59, of Frisco, Texas, was charged in federal court in April 2023 with abusive sexual contact in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States while on a commercial flight from Chicago to Salt Lake City in March 2022.
MacLean grabbed and groped the passenger multiple times while on the flight, court documents state.
"MacLean made calculated and sexually laced statements to a stranger seated next to him while he sexually assaulted her multiple times in the first-class cabin," the U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah said in a statement.
MacLean was found guilty by a jury on July 23 and taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 1.
"Mr. MacLean unlawfully and illegally imposed his will upon another person — sexually assaulting her over and over again on that late-night flight," prosecuting attorney Bryan N. Reeves of the U.S. Attorney's Office said during the trial.
