A Newton man was arrested on suspicion of making sexual contact with a teenage girl sitting in front of him by reaching through the seat on a flight from Puerto Rico to Boston in August.
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A man has been arrested on suspicion of groping a 17-year-old girl in the seat in front of him on a flight from Puerto Rico to Boston last year, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Jonathan Alan Lefman, of Newton, was arrested Friday on a charge of abusive sexual contact, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts said in a statement.
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Lefman, who faces up to two years in prison if he's convicted, was ordered to stay away from the victim and her family.
His lawyer said Lefman "is completely innocent of these charges."
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Lefman, whom prosecutors say was flying with his wife and children on Aug. 30, 2024, is accused of repeatedly reaching his hand through the seat in front of him to touch the girl's rear. In the final instance he allegedly touched her, the girl sat up and filmed cellphone video of a finger and hand sticking through her seat.
After the teen got off the plane, an adult family member who was in a different row reported Lefman to a supervisor on the plane and confronted the man, prosecutors said.
Lefman, accompanied by an attorney, was interiewed later that day by the FBI and state police, according to a criminal complaint filed in court. He told investigators he didn't recall reaching under his seat or dropping anything during the flight, on which he listened to a podcast.
Asked if he stuck his fingers between seats on the plane, he said, "No. Not that I can recall," and denied contact with the girl. Shown the video the teen took of the seat and asked if it showed his fingers, he said, "I don't know," the document said.
