# Bloke assaults woman on flight - now faces life in prison - is this excessive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 19, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872 "2018-08-19T15:32:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/41 "2018-08-24T08:11:42Z")
It would be excessive, which is why it’s not going to happen. The life end is for things like, I don’t know, the perpetrator had a history of convictions, beat the victim to within an inch of her life in the process of sexually assaulting her, and she was also his minor child. Those are all the kinds of things that add points that equate to more prison time. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/42 "2018-08-24T11:25:04Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > What is a more reasonable sentence for rape, in your opinion? You think that putting a finger in someone’s vagina is exactly as bad as murdering this person? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/43 "2018-08-24T12:09:09Z")
He made someone’s _Spirit Airlines_ experience even worse than it would have otherwise been. Lock him up for a good long time. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/44 "2018-08-24T12:15:33Z")
Almost tempted to agree that life is right just for being that stupid, but I do think life would be excessive. I think 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/45 "2018-08-24T15:44:35Z")
I’m good with life in prison for sexual assault. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/46 "2018-08-24T17:03:21Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > Do US juries have wide leeway in determining the quantum of sentences? IANAL, but if memory serves it’s only in death penalty cases that the jury has any say in the sentencing phase, either life in prison or death, on which it deliberates in a separate penalty phase after the defendant has been convicted of a capital crime. In trials for lesser offenses, sentencing is up to the judge, who himself/herself may be constrained by statute (e.g. mandatory minimums, diversion to addiction treatment rather than jail for possession, etc.) IIRC juries in civil cases have a lot more leeway and, if finding for the plaintiff, can award a greater or lesser sum than the amount originally stated by the plaintiff. Like I said, IANAL so please set me straight if this is incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/47 "2018-08-24T19:29:09Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …an even better solution: don’t have laws on the books that make it mandatory to put somebody behind bars for the rest of their natural life for growing three dozen marijuana plants in their backyard. Not going to disagree with that either - stupid law. But… if it is a law on the books you are stupid for breaking it. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/48 "2018-08-24T19:41:16Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Let’s compromise. Deport him and his lying wife halfway back to India. You mean they get off the plane a couple of hours before it lands? The doctor in Houston should have got 15 to life. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/49 "2018-08-24T20:07:49Z")
Serious questions I just don’t get. Did rape-guy think for a minute that he’d get away with what he was doing? Did he think his victim would _enjoy_ It? Did he believe he could deny doing anything? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/50 "2018-08-24T20:14:51Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Serious questions I just don’t get. Did rape-guy think for a minute that he’d get away with what he was doing? Did he think his victim would _enjoy_ It? Did he believe he could deny doing anything? Not that I can read minds, but I get the distinct impression that gropey guys expect to be able to get away with such things without consequence. I _don’t_ get the impression that they expect the victim to enjoy anything about the experience - though they might expect them to keep quiet anyway, for one imagined reason or another. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/51 "2018-08-24T20:17:18Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Serious questions I just don’t get. Did rape-guy think for a minute that he’d get away with what he was doing? Did he think his victim would _enjoy_ It? Did he believe he could deny doing anything? Sexual harassment and assault of women in public places is rampant in some parts of India, where it is colloquially known as “Eve-teasing” for who knows what reason. I would bet that he thought he would get away with it this time because he had gotten away with it before. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/52 "2018-08-24T20:49:13Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > … though they might expect them to keep quiet anyway, for one imagined reason or another. Sexual assault is humiliating in a way non-sexual assault is not, even before the victim shaming starts. This is why I argue we should stop treating sexual assault as ‘a fate worse than death’ for women and impossible for men. A little sunshine can burn off a lot of humiliation. Even if one gets past the humiliation, one has to be prepared for the accusations one somehow ‘asked for it’. Did you notice how the victim was accused of initiating contact? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/53 "2018-08-24T21:39:34Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Sexual assault is humiliating in a way non-sexual assault is not, even before the victim shaming starts. This is why I argue we should stop treating sexual assault as ‘a fate worse than death’ for women and impossible for men. A little sunshine can burn off a lot of humiliation. > > Even if one gets past the humiliation, one has to be prepared for the accusations one somehow ‘asked for it’. Did you notice how the victim was accused of initiating contact? Oh, I get that there are real legitimate reasons why victims don’t step forward (usually based on people being assholes). I really intended to say that the rapist has his own ideas about why his victims won’t tattle on him, which aren’t necessarily related to anything the victim might think. My word choice was just poor. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/54 "2018-08-25T00:04:55Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Sexual harassment and assault of women in public places is rampant in some parts of India, where it is colloquially known as “Eve-teasing” for who knows what reason. > > I would bet that he thought he would get away with it this time because he had gotten away with it before. I’ve been binge watching The Amazing Race lately. Twice in the first 5 or 6 seasons they’ve had teams travel by crowded train in India. _Every female contestant_ was groped the entire trip whether she was paired with a male or not. It was gut wrenching the first time, I was shocked the producers choose an Indian train again. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/55 "2018-08-25T00:50:32Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Not going to disagree with that either - stupid law. But… if it is a law on the books you are stupid for breaking it. …I’m sure you would agree with me then that its stupid to put people away in jail for the rest of their lives as a result of a stupid decision. Not for murder. Not for rape. Not for assault. But for being “stupid.” I’m not entirely sure of your point. I’m never going to agree with you. The laws as they stand are most likely to affect those that are poor, those that make poor life decisions, those that are marginalised, those that you have chosen to characterize as “stupid decision makers.” We are talking things like getting life-in-prison for selling “two crumpled bags of marijuana, worth $10 each.” Kevin Smith gets to make TV Shows about marijuana. He talks openly about lighting up just before his podcast. Yet Fate Vincent Winslow is left to rot in jail. He’s been there since 2008. And he is in there precisely because of the indifference of people like you. Because you think “he was stupid” for breaking a law on the books. 10 white jurors said Fate Vincent Winslow was guilty. The two black jurors voted not guilty. Which way would you have voted? ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/56 "2018-08-25T01:51:04Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Oh, I get that there are real legitimate reasons why victims don’t step forward (usually based on people being assholes). I really intended to say that the rapist has his own ideas about why his victims won’t tattle on him, which aren’t necessarily related to anything the victim might think. My word choice was just poor. Right, **my** (poorly expressed) point was that the rapist might think the victim won’t talk because so many don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/57 "2018-08-25T02:12:09Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I’ve been binge watching The Amazing Race lately. Twice in the first 5 or 6 seasons they’ve had teams travel by crowded train in India. _Every female contestant_ was groped the entire trip whether she was paired with a male or not. It was gut wrenching the first time, I was shocked the producers choose an Indian train again. Producers are fine w/ anything that creates outrage b/c they want TV people will watch. If Morton Downey Jr taught us nothing else, it’s that people will watch TV to be outraged. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/58 "2018-08-25T06:26:28Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Serious questions I just don’t get. Did rape-guy think for a minute that he’d get away with what he was doing? Did he think his victim would _enjoy_ It? Did he believe he could deny doing anything? There is a perception among many men in India, reinforced by Hollywood, that young white women are loose and sexually promiscuous. So he probably imagined she would enjoy it. He also probably believed she would keep quiet, as abused women in India often do. If this had happened on an Indian train or bus, he would have earned a tight slap from the woman, or a public thrashing, depending on where in India. He might have been taken to police custody, but would be out on bail in no time. He misunderestimated how seriously sexual assault is taken in Western countries. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/59 "2019-03-13T04:21:27Z")
Updating this thread: > [@](#): > > December 13, 2018. With his wife crying in the courtroom, a Rochester Hills man was sentenced to nine years in prison Thursday for sexually assaulting a sleeping woman on an airplane, sticking his hands down her pants and penetrating her genitalia while his wife sat next to him. > > As prosecutors put it, Prabhu Ramamoorthy “committed one of the most brazen airplane sexual assaults ever prosecuted in this district” when he knowingly took advantage of a sleeping, intoxicated woman who could not fight back. > > The 35-year-old defendant, who chose not to speak at his sentencing hearing or address the victim, will be deported to India when he gets out of prison. He will never be allowed back into the United States. > **[Sexual assault on Spirit flight lands man in prison for 9 years](https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/12/13/prabhu-ramamoorthy-detroit-spirit-airlines/2292441002/)** > > Prosecutors said Prabhu Ramamoorthy "committed one of the most brazen airplane sexual assaults ever prosecuted in this district." ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloke-assaults-woman-on-flight-now-faces-life-in-prison-is-this-excessive/819872/60 "2019-03-13T04:51:48Z")
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