Indian national gets 9 years in US prison for airplane sexual assault

CHICAGO: An Indian national has been sentenced to nine years in US prison for a "brazen" sexual assault of a woman on an airplane while his wife sat next to him.

Prabhu Ramamoorthy was sentenced Thursday in a Detroit court. The 35-year-old, who is in the US on a work visa, will be deported to India after completing his sentence.

Crew members told federal investigators that the victim was crying as she reported the incident 40 minutes before the plane´s landing, according to the Washington Post.

Ramamoorthy was arrested after the plane landed.

Prosecutors said he "committed one of the most brazen airplane sexual assaults ever prosecuted in this district," according to the Detroit Free Press.

A jury convicted him in August after a five-day trial. He had faced up to life in prison.

Ramamoorthy cried as he left the courtroom Thursday, as is his victim looked on, sitting quietly with a comfort dog, according to the Free Press.