Man jailed for sexually assaulting woman on flight

The incident happened on a flight to Gatwick Airport from Qatar

A man who sexually assaulted a woman while she slept on a flight has been jailed for more than six years.

Momade Jussab, 66, was sitting next to the victim, a woman in her 20s, while travelling on an overnight Qatar Airlines flight to Gatwick from Doha in Qatar on 27-28 September.

Jussab was charged with one count of sexual assault by penetration and two counts of sexual assault, and was found guilty in March.

At Lewes Crown Court on Monday, Jussab, of Swinfield Close, Feltham, was jailed for six-and-a-half years as part of an extended sentence.

'So traumatising'

It means he will not be released automatically half-way through his sentence, but will instead have to serve at least two-thirds of the sentence in prison before he can be considered for parole.

Jussab assaulted the victim after she fell asleep with headphones on, covered in blankets, while watching a film on the flight.

She woke up to find he was sexually assaulting her and reported this when the plane landed, police said.

Jussab had admitted touching the woman, but told police she had led him on and was "asking for it".

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: "It has felt so hard and so traumatising to think that anyone would ever want to do that to me."

She added: "The shock and disbelief at what I have experienced will never go away and I will never understand how or why anyone would do that to a person."

Speaking after the case, Det Insp Darren Taylor said: "This was a shocking case and a crime which has a long-term impact on the victim and other victims like her."