Drunk passenger receives suspended sentence after sexually assaulting woman on flight

Aircraft economy class seating where passenger incidents can occur during flights (Illustrative image) (Photo by John Keeble/Getty Images) Getty Images

A drunk passenger who sexually assaulted a woman on a Jet2 flight has been sentenced to a suspended prison term.

Craig Lowe (53) groped the female passenger's thigh multiple times after consuming six small bottles of red wine on the November 12, 2023 flight from Manchester to Tenerife.

The Wigan man made crude sexual comments to the woman, asking: "Are you going to f*** me then?" and "Would you come back to my hotel room so I can f*** you?"

He also grabbed her inner thigh, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Lowe's then threatened another passenger who tried to help him after he dropped his phone. He told the passenger: "I'm going to kill you... go on... I'll have you outside."

As they disembarked and boarded the bus to the terminal, the other passenger's wife loudly asked: "Can someone get this man away from us."

In a victim personal statement, read to the court by prosecutor Amy Weir, the woman said: "This journey was supposed to be a relaxing trip away with my family after ten sets of shifts. I am now anxious to travel and I'll never sit on my own again."

The woman said she was an anxious flier, and the incident had exacerbated how she felt.

She continued: "There was no CCTV on board which makes me more apprehensive about travelling - it means there is nowhere to go.

"I'm just grateful that this occurred towards the end of a four hour flight."

Jason Smith, defending, said his client was an alcoholic at the time, which "ruined his life" and "broke up his marriage".

"In an attempt to remake himself and take a break, he carried on drinking at the airport and behaved in a thoroughly reprehensible manner," he said. "He has no excuse."

Smith added that Lowe had since "rebuilt his life" and abstained from alcohol.

Judge Timothy Smith said: "She described that for the majority of the flight there was nothing untoward about your behaviour - you were 'fun'. That came to an end towards the end of the flight.

"This court sees too often examples of people who misbehave and drink to excess before going on a flight. Their behaviour, in a confined space, causes fear. They see people, such as yourself, in an intoxicated state, unable to control themselves."

"You say you are disgusted in yourself and your behaviour, and so you should be," Smith added.

Lowe, of Lower Green Lane, Tyldesley, received 28 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months after pleading guilty to entering an aircraft when drunk and sexual assault.

He must complete 150 hours unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

The sentence also requires Lowe to sign onto the Sex Offenders Register for seven years.

Judge Smith said the two-year delay in sentencing and Lowe's efforts to address his issues allowed him to suspend the prison sentence.

Sources used: "cornwalllive.com", "nottinghampost.com", "Manchester Evening News" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.