close
close

Guiltandivy

Source for News

A man was arrested in Logan after harassing and openly masturbating a woman, according to the FBI
Update Information

A man was arrested in Logan after harassing and openly masturbating a woman, according to the FBI

Local News

The man allegedly touched a woman without her consent before masturbating in front of other passengers on a flight from Abu Dhabi to Boston on Monday.

A man from India was arrested at Logan Airport on Monday after he allegedly made unwanted advances toward another female passenger, touched her without consent and openly masturbated on a flight to Boston. Krishna Kunapuli, 39, was charged with lewd, indecent or obscene acts.

The series of events that led to Kunapuli's arrest were laid out in an FBI agent's affidavit filed in federal court. Kunapuli flew aboard Etihad Airlines Flight 7 from Abu Dhabi to Boston on Monday. A woman was sitting in a nearby aisle where there were two empty seats. During the flight, Kunapuli asked the woman if he could sit next to her while he waited for the toilet to clear. The woman agreed and Kunapuli tried to make small talk.

Kunapuli then began complimenting the woman on her looks and asking her if she would spend the night with him in Boston. He allegedly offered her $5,000 as a “gift” and bragged about his wealth. This continued until Kunapuli began touching the woman's hair and repeatedly telling her that she was “beautiful,” the affidavit states.

On the way to Logan, the woman also had problems connecting her phone to the WiFi connection on board. To solve the problem and escape Kunapuli, she made her way into a galley and looked for a crew member. But Kunapuli is said to have followed her. He approached her, complimented her and kept touching her hair. She told him several times to stop, but Kunapuli ignored her demands, the document said.

Finally a crew member came into the galley. He told investigators that he initially thought Kunapuli and the woman were a romantic couple. This assumption was made in part because he had apparently seen Kunapuli touching the woman's breast. But then the crew member saw Kunapuli's wife backing away and noticed he was harassing her and taking photos of her without her permission. He spoke to the woman, learned of the situation and asked them both to return to their seats away from each other.

A man sitting near Kunapuli told investigators that at some point during the flight he saw Kunapuli sitting with a blanket over his lap and watching something on his cell phone. The man began to suspect that Kunapuli was masturbating and eventually saw Kunapuli's exposed penis. This took about 10 minutes, according to the affidavit.

Another passenger woke up about four hours into the flight, removed his sleep mask and also noticed Kunapuli allegedly masturbating and completely exposing himself. The passenger tried to interrupt by “excessive movements, such as shaking out his blanket,” the affidavit says. Kunapuli noticed it, covered himself with his blanket and continued masturbating, the document says.

The passenger tried to ignore this and go back to sleep. However, that passenger looked over again and saw Kunapuli exposing himself again, according to the affidavit. The passenger spoke to a crew member and was allowed to move to another seat. This happened after this crew member interacted with Kunapuli and the woman.

The crew member approached Kunapuli after being told that Kunapuli was masturbating. Kunapuli zipped up his pants and apologized, and the crew member recognized him as the same passenger who had previously made unwanted advances toward the woman.

When the flight landed in Logan, crew members identified Kunapuli to FBI agents and state police officials. They got him off the plane. He was interviewed and eventually admitted to investigators that he masturbated on the flight, the affidavit said. Kunapuli was arrested and remains in federal custody.

Ross Cristantiello

Staff writer


Ross Cristantiello, a general news reporter for Boston.com since 2022, covers local politics, crime, the environment and more.


LEAVE A RESPONSE

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *