A Boston doctor was found not guilty Wednesday of performing an indecent act near a 14-year-old girl on a plane after a three-day trial in federal court in Boston.
Lawyers for Dr. Sudipta Mohanty, 33, said more than a dozen passengers who were seated near Mohanty and the flight attendants who attended to them did not find anything on the plane consistent with the accusations. He said he could not see it.
Mohanty said the charges and trial for a crime he did not commit was incredibly difficult for him and his family.
Boston doctor goes to trial after being accused of molesting a teenager on a plane
“My fiance was sitting next to me on that plane, and neither of us can understand why this happened,” he said in a written statement. “As a physician, I have dedicated my life to caring for others, and it was heartbreaking to leave my profession while dealing with these false charges.”
Mohanty opted for a courtroom trial, meaning his not guilty verdict was handed down by a judge rather than a jury. He was charged with one count of lewd, lewd and lascivious acts on board an aircraft.
A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus 330-200 parked at Los Angeles International Airport. (Fabrizio Gandolfo/SOPA Images/LightRocket, Getty Images)
Investigators say Mohanty boarded a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to Boston in May 2022 with a female companion, sitting next to a 14-year-old girl who was traveling with her grandparents. Ta.
Investigators said that during the flight, the 14-year-old girl said she noticed Mohanty had a blanket around his neck and his legs were flopping around.
A short time later, the minor stated that the blanket had fallen on the floor and was no longer covering Mohanty and that Mohanty was masturbating, prosecutors said. The minor was moved to an empty seat in another row. After her arrival in Boston, she told her family about it and the police were called.
Mohanty’s lawyer, Claudia Lagos, said the accusations were shocking.
“Dr. Mohanty is a talented and dedicated physician. He has no history of wrongdoing,” she said in a statement. “The last six months have been a strange nightmare for him, but he is relieved that this is finally over and he can rebuild his life.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Mohanty was sentenced to up to 90 days in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $5,000.
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Mohanty, a Cambridge resident, worked as a physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The hospital announced last year that he would no longer practice at the hospital.
