A man was acquitted of molesting a woman on a flight after a judge found the woman's testimony unreliable.

Wheekie · 2024-04-29T16:10:24+00:00

This incident occurred in September 2020. The article is fairly long so I will try my best to summarize it.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/man-acquitted-molest-singapore-airlines-flight-japan-702786

The following is my summary of the article.

The man was accused of molest by a 25-year old woman (unnamed due to a gag order) on a flight from Japan to Singapore. She accused the man of touching her left thigh and groin.

The man, a 56 year old American (fully named in the article) testified that he was sleeping when the incident occurred while on the flight whom he was a frequent flyer on.

The woman claims that the man touched her twice after the lights in the aircraft were turned off. Alleging that his hand moved upwards her thigh in a "crawling" motion. Initially believing it to be accidental touch, she informed the man and his hand moved back to his seat. A while later, his hand "slowly crawled upwards again from above her knee" up to her inner thigh and groin. Unsure of what to do next, she crossed her legs and leaned away feeling uneasy for the rest of the flight.

The man testified that he had a chat with the woman shortly after take off and moved from his original seat in the aisle to the middle seat to continue chatting and the woman did not object. He asked about the woman's trip to Japan and her future travel plans. He also gave recommendations of good restaurants in Bangkok and even gave his name and phone number. The chatting ended when the man fell asleep after closing his eyes, waking up an hour before landing.

The judge found that the woman's testimony had serious doubts, was highly unsatisfactory and in some aspects incredulous. The judge was left in no doubt that the woman is completely unreliable whose sole testimony to convict a sexual offense cannot be sustained. The judge explained that the woman's depiction of the man's actions were "implausible" as it would have required the man's hands to twist in awkward movements. Furthermore, the woman did not attempt to seek help despite a "supposedly distressing sexual attack on her". As she was not a first-time traveler, she was also familiar with the in-cabin controls where should could have at least called for help. When the flight landed, she made no attempt to draw attention to what happened to her. The woman's original statement was also different to her account in court.

Meanwhile, the man's testimony was truthful and consistent and it made no sense for him to give his personal details if he was intending to molest the woman.

Thus, the man was acquitted of the molestation charges.

Edit: clarity

gabriel-kornilov · 2024-04-29T16:39:54+00:00

Mr De Vido had testified that he struck up a conversation with the woman shortly after the flight took off, moving to the middle seat from his assigned aisle seat to continue chatting.

Terrible mistake, especially when you're 50+ and she's 25, in a confined space. Don't think with your little head. Don't try to be "nice". Don't talk to them. Walk away.

Mr De Vido was defended by lawyers Wendell Wong, Benedict Eoon and Evelyn Tan from Drew & Napier.

I wonder how much the little chat cost him at the end....

Huntress_Nyx · 2024-04-29T17:38:07+00:00

Now was that woman punished for making a mockery of real victims of harassment?

I'm glad that he didn't get punished for something he didn't do, but I hope that some action is taken so that woman won't try something like that again.

IronJohnMRA · 2024-04-29T20:35:26+00:00

I want her name.

Enough-Staff-2976 · 2024-04-29T21:40:47+00:00

I'm sure this this man losted a lot of money, job, marriage, kids, friends and attorney fees.

Sandy_Pepper · 2024-04-29T16:48:21+00:00

Real-Turnover-7289 · 2024-04-29T20:42:53+00:00

Progress!

Agile_Potato9088 · 2024-05-01T23:17:49+00:00

Okay, cool. Now charge her with a false accusation, put her in prison, force her to pay him a huge fine, and force her to publicly apologize.

dejour · 2024-04-29T23:36:02+00:00

Having read the story, I don't think this was necessarily a false accusation.

I've traveled on airplanes and I'm not sure I'd remember the "help" button for cabin crew. Nor does it seem completely impossible for a man to move his hand up from the knee, up the thigh toward the groin.

It sounds like a good thing that was he acquitted since it isn't clear beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty. But it's also not clear beyond a reasonable doubt that he was innocent. The truth is unclear.

Therefore, I don't think that anyone should want to "name and shame her" or anything, and it's a bit harsh to call these false accusations.

Title	A man was acquitted of molesting a woman on a flight after a judge found the woman's testimony unreliable.
Author	Wheekie
Upvotes	323
Comments	35
Date	April 29, 2024 4:08 PM UTC (2 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1cg2yfn/a_man_was_acquitted_of_molesting_a_woman_on_a/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/a-man-was-acquitted-of-molesting-a-woman-on-a.1516813 https://theredarchive.com/post/1516813

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