Sex offender on El Al flight accused of groping sleeping woman
Yoel Oberlander previously convicted of abusing 11-year-old girl; latest complaint alleges he touched woman without consent
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Federal prosecutors say a registered sex offender improperly touched a sleeping woman aboard a flight in May from Israel to New Jersey.
Yoel Oberlander, of Monsey, New York, has been charged with one count of abusive sexual contact. US Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark ordered the 35-year-old man detained after he was arraigned Friday. It wasn’t known Saturday if he has a lawyer who could comment on his behalf.
Prosecutors say Oberlander was sitting next to a woman during a May 29 El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Newark Liberty airport. They say he repeatedly placed his hand on the woman’s thigh and breast without her consent.
This is Oberlander’s third sex offense-related arrest.
In 2002, Oberlander was convicted of sexual abuse involving an 11-year-old girl in New York. He pleaded guilty to molesting the minor and was sentenced to six years of probation.
In 2012, Oberlander was arrested after he was accused of molesting several young boys at an Orthodox summer camp. An investigation turned up no evidence of abuse, and he was charged with a misdemeanor and second-degree trespassing at Camp Shalva, near South Fallsburg, NY.
If convicted of the latest charge, Oberlander faces up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Times of Israel Community.