ATLANTA — A man will spend nearly two years in federal prison for repeatedly groping an emergency room nurse, "exhausted from a hectic day," while on a flight to Atlanta before directing slurs at the officers who arrested him.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta announced on Thursday a 21-month sentence for 36-year-old Scott Granden of St. Louis.
According to U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine, in March 2021 Granden was sitting next to the nurse, identified by officials as R.A.K., on a flight from St. Louis to Atlanta.
A release said she tried to rest as the plane took off as she was "exhausted from a hectic day," but soon "awoke to discover that Granden's hand was on her thigh."
"She removed his hand and went back to sleep. But she woke up moments later because Granden had again placed his hand on her thigh, moved his hand towards her groin area, and, at one point, tried to kiss her," the release said.
At that point she warned Granden to stop touching her. Instead, he "slapped R.A.K. on the buttocks when she stood up to let him pass her to go to the restroom."
At that point, she complained to flight attendants and Granden was moved to another seat. When the plane landed in Atlanta, APD officers took statements as he "called the officers a series of racist and homophobic slurs."
He pleaded guilty last September.
In addition to the prison sentence, Granden will face one year of supervised release and must also register as a sex offender.
“Passengers have the right to fly in peace and to expect that their personal dignity will be respected,” U.S. Attorney Erskine said in a statement. “When this defendant started groping and sexually harassing the female passenger in the next seat, he humiliated and degraded her. We will not tolerate this type of behavior on an airplane, and this sentence shows the consequences for such abusive sexual conduct.”
