76-Year-Old Texas Man Arrested For Allegedly Groping Teen On Flight

A 76-year-old man from Texas has been taken into federal custody after being accused of groping a teenage girl who was sitting in front of him during a recent flight. The girl filmed the whole incident.

Vincent Kopacek, from Fredericksburg, Texas, allegedly groped a 15-year-old girl aboard a flight from Austin to Bozeman, Montana, on July 8. He reportedly began groping the minor even before the flight took off and continued the assault for three hours until the plane landed.

Kopacek appeared in a federal court Monday. He was charged with attempted sexual abuse of a minor, abusive sexual contact and assault within the maritime and territorial jurisdiction.

"If convicted of the most serious crime, Kopacek faces a maximum 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release," a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office indicated.

According to court documents, Kopacek was sitting behind the 15-year-old. The girl was occupying a window seat, which was fully upright during the flight, prosecutors said.

"Kopacek allegedly reached his hand around the girl's seat between her seat and the interior wall of the aircraft and touched the girl's body," the news release added. "The girl documented the alleged activity with her cell phone."

The 15-year-old told her family about the abuse after leaving Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport. Her family then contacted law enforcement to file a complaint.

The teen took over 20 short videos and several photographs with her cell phone to document the crime. Using these clips and photographs, the authorities were able to track down Kopacek, reported KSAT.

An investigation into the crime was carried out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office and the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport Public Safety Office, NBC Montana said in a report.

The FBI, with assistance from Gallatin County Sheriff's Office, arrested Kopacek while he was checking in for his return flight to Texas on Sunday.

In 2018, an airplane passenger was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual abuse after he assaulted a woman sleeping in the seat next to him. The incident occurred on a Spirit Airlines flight en route to Detroit from Las Vegas.