19-year-old wakes up to man groping her on flight, says he had ‘nightmare’

Mariah Rush

The Charlotte Observer

A man is facing a sexual abuse charge after prosecutors say he groped a sleeping woman on a Delta Air Lines flight to Michigan.

The man, Bektash Sefa, told investigators the incident may have been because his hands move uncontrollably while he sleeps, according to a criminal complaint filed on April 12.

As of April 20, a defense attorney was not listed for Sefa.

Sefa was on a Delta flight to Detroit from the Netherlands on Oct. 10, 2021, when a 19-year-old seated next to him said she awoke to him massaging her knee, the complaint said.

The woman told investigators Sefa attempted to speak to her while boarding, but she didn’t respond.

After she woke up two hours into the eight-hour flight to Sefa touching her, the passenger “shifted her body away” from Sefa, but he moved closer to her, according to the court documents.

Sefa then massaged his hand up her leg and touched her thigh, groin area and breast, she told investigators. The 19-year-old then ran to the bathroom to get away and reported the assault to two flight attendants, the complaint said.

According to the flight attendants, the woman was “so frightened that she could barely explain the incident” when she approached them. The flight attendants then moved her to a different part of the plane.

When the plane landed, Sefa was escorted off and interviewed by investigators. He said he did not touch anyone on the plane but said he has nightmares and “his hands move a lot when he sleeps and that he sometimes sleepwalks.”

Sefa is facing an abusive sexual contact charge.

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