Woman Groped By Drunk Man On Flight From Miami To Denver, Criminal Charges Filed

Criminal charges are being leveled against a man accused of groping a woman on a Frontier flight last month. According to the official complaint, Victor Maksimov, 42, reportedly groped a fellow female passenger on a flight from Miami to Denver on Oct. 27.

Records obtained by the Miami Herald show that Maksimov appeared in court Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to a charge of sexual assault within an aircraft jurisdiction. He faces up to six months in prison.

The woman sat next to Maksimov in an aisle seat on the four-hour flight. He was in the middle seat with his son sitting next to the window. Makismov offered the woman some vodka but she declined and attempted to take a nap.

At this point, the woman said she felt the man feeling her “hamstring and buttock area.” She shifted in her seat continued trying to sleep. Five minutes later, he began feeling her again.

“Maksimov committed another unwanted touching, this time by reaching over her body, as her back was turned towards him, and touching the inside of [the woman's] upper thigh,” a federal air marshal wrote.

The woman first began explaining what had happened to flight attendants on board, who moved her to a new seat. Maksimov was questioned once the plane landed and denied any wrongdoing. A search of his bag revealed several mini bottles of vodka and flight attendants attested to serving him alcohol.

Maksimov’s next court date is set for January. Until that time, he is not permitted to leave the Southern District of Florida without permission from the court.

This incident is not the only recent instance of groping on a flight. On Nov. 5, a flight from Charlotte to Salt Lake City had to be diverted when a man began forcibly grabbing a woman and her daughter. The plane landed in Tulsa, where the man was taken into police custody.