A HELPING HAND Man denies molesting sleeping woman

Posted on 12/03/2015

You can’t make this stuff up. A New York man has denied molesting a sleeping passenger with hand lotion during a 13-hour flight from Dubai. When questioned about the assault, he reportedly told flight attendants the victim 'enjoyed it because she did not resist'.

Nadeem Mehmood Quraishi, from Staten Island, was arrested aboard an Emirates plane on October 26. He denied charges of molesting the woman. According to a criminal complaint obtained by The Smoking Gun, the victim said she took anti-anxiety medication after boarding the plane and fell asleep about an hour into the flight. When she awoke a few hours later, her arms, chest and upper legs were sleek with some type of lotion.

The woman said Quraishi, who was seated next to her, asked her whether she “had a good nap”. The female passenger also realized that the bottle of hand lotion she had placed in the pocket in front of her was missing. She got up to go to the bathroom and noticed that her genitals were sore, according to the court filings.

She then discovered that her 'underwear had been shifted' and there was lotion on her genital area and on her underwear. When she returned to her seat, the woman asked Quraishi where her lotion was. When he handed her the bottle, she alerted the crew that something happened to her while she was asleep. The court documents stated that when flight attendants asked Quraishi about what happened, he allegedly admitted to rubbing lotion on his fellow passenger’s body.

The 42-year-old man, who reportedly manages a Subway eatery, allegedly told the cabin crew he thought the woman “needed it” and “enjoyed it”. “The defendant also told the flight attendants that he liked it,” the complaint read. The defendant's lawyer, Mark Macron said after the arraignment that he is ready to engage in plea negotiations with the Brooklyn US Attorney's office, NY Daily News reported.

Macron also said he wants to review the evidence against Quraishi, who is free on $50,000 bail Macron said the results of DNA testing of items including the bottle of lotion are being awaited, according to NY Daily News. Quraishi could be jailed for two years if he is convicted of the 'abusive sexual conduct' count on the indictment.