A U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of a suburban Chicago man convicted of groping a passenger on a flight while she slept in a seat next to him.
Lawyers for Srinivasa Erramilli say the trial judge abused her discretion in allowing evidence that Erramilli committed prior sexual assaults. The lawyers also contend U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow issued improper jury instructions.
The appeals court said in its ruling Lefkow did not abuse her discretion in admitting Erramilli's prior acts.
In 2013, Lefkow sentenced Erramilli of Aurora to nine months in prison for the June 2011 groping on a Southwest Airlines flight.
At trial, jurors heard testimony that Erramilli was convicted in 2002 for grabbing a woman's breast on a flight. In 2000, he received two years' probation for a similar incident.
