British Man Accused Of Raping Woman During Overnight United Airlines Flight

A British man has been accused of raping a woman during an overnight flight from New Jersey to London.

On Jan. 31, while she was in the business class section of a United Airlines flight traveling from Newark, New Jersey to Heathrow Airport, a 40-year-old man raped her. The woman, 40, says other passengers were sleeping when the assault occurred.

According to a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police, “officers met the aircraft on arrival and arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of rape.” While the investigation continues, the man was released, the New York Post reports.

According to a source of The Sun, the two didn’t know one another but met over drinks and conversation earlier in a lounge area. The source says the woman said she was raped while others were asleep. The source added that the woman was “distraught and reported it to cabin staff who radioed ahead to police, who were waiting as the plane came in to land.”

The Sun reports that authorities took a scan of his fingerprints and a DNA sample. The woman detailed the incident to police, and she was taken to a rape counseling facility.