Eun Jong Lee was arrested after he groped a woman on a long United Airlines flight. This week, the arrest of a 47-year-old visiting student named Eun Jong Lee from Cornell University is making headlines. The FBI arrested Lee after the passenger sitting next to him during the 13-hour flight woke up and found his hands on her shirt touching her breasts. Lee, a professor from South Korea who has worked at Samsung and LG electronics faces up to two years in prison.
On Sunday, FBI agents were on the tarmac at Newark Liberty International Airport waiting for United Airlines flight 78 to land in order to immediately arrest Eun Jong Lee.
During the long 13-hour trip from Tokyo to Newark, New Jersey, the female passenger sitting next to Lee fell asleep only to wake up to very a disturbing scene.
The lady told authorities that she found Lee’s hands outside her blouse touching her breasts and he later attempted to put his hands inside her bra.
The design researcher also caressed her neck while she was sitting next to him.
The unnamed victim said she begged him to stop and he got up and went to hide in the restroom.
The lady ran to the flight’s crew and reported the incident.
The 47-year-old South Korean man was arrested at the airport and charged with abusive sexual contact.
The Ivy League visiting scholar is facing up to two years in prison and a hefty $250,000 fine.
Lee who is a professor at Handong Global University in South Korea made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Newark on Monday.
Mr Lee who teaches at Cornell University’s Human Ecology’s Design & Environmental Analysis program was represented by federal public defender and choose not to accept a plea deal.
Cornell has issued a statement saying due to the arrest, Lee is no longer on their payroll.
