Seattle, WA
2 men sentenced for sexual assaults of passengers on flights to Seattle
Two men accused of sexually assaulting passengers on planes during flights to Seattle were sentenced Thursday.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said in a statement that Abhinav Kuma, of India, got 15 months in prison. Kumar, 39, was convicted of abusive sexual contact following a three-day trial in May.
Kumar was arrested at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Feb. 18 for allegedly groping the breast of a juvenile while she was trying to sleep on an Emirates flight from Dubai to Seattle, according to court records and trial testimony.
CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO-TV reports that the victim was 17. Prosecutors wanted a 21-month sentence, arguing Kumar took advantage of a vulnerable teenager, causing her lasting trauma. The victim described the assault as a “persistent, haunting presence” in her life.
Desmond Bostick, of Federal Way, Washington, was sentenced to nine months in prison for assault with intent to commit a felony. He pleaded guilty to the crime as part of a plea agreement in April and will serve three years of supervised release following his time behind bars.
While seated in the last row of a plane during a flight from San Diego on June 20, 2023, Bostick repeatedly touched the thigh of a woman in the middle seat next to him, prosecutors said. He also grabbed her buttocks twice when she stood up to let a passenger in the window seat exit and reenter the row.
After the plane landed, the woman reported Bostick’s actions to the flight crew. A federal grand jury returned an indictment in the case in September and Bostick was located and arrested by the FBI on Feb. 9. Bostick admitted as part of the plea agreement that he touched the woman with sexual motivation, prosecutors said.
According to KIRO, U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead, who imposed both sentences, told Bostock that “to characterize your conduct as a ‘lapse of judgment’ would be to divorce your conduct from its true ugliness.”
U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said in the statement that, “”The Western District of Washington continues to see an increase in cases involving sexual assault aboard aircraft, and we have a zero-tolerance policy. These cases demonstrate that there are real consequences for this predatory behavior.”
West Seattle pickleball players rallied this week as they ramp up opposition to Seattle Parks‘ Draft Outdoor Racquet-Sports Strategy, which would – among other things – change dual-striped courts at High Point and Alki to tennis-only. Next milepost along the way: Tomorrow night (Thursday, April 23), the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners – a city-convened advisory group – gets briefed on the “strategy.” Though board meetings usually have a public-comment period, the department is directing comments to the three feedback meetings (none in West Seattle, though some local advocates are trying to get one set up). The advocate who contacted us says they’re trying to “show their support to save these vital community resources. These courts are used by hundreds of people every week to stay active and connect with neighbors. We have no idea why the city would seek to do away with such highly used and inclusive gathering places.” They’re describing what they’re doing as a “WS-specific effort … aimed at saving pickleball at Walt Hundley and Alki. We are planning another larger rally on a weekend in Mid/Late May where we hope to turn out the entire West Seattle pickleball community and invite our local elected leaders and city officials to see how many lives are touched by pickleball in West Seattle.” In the meantime, they’re continuing to collect petition signatures here. Tomorrow night’s Parks Board meeting is being held in person downtown and via Zoom at 6 pm – attendance info is here.
over at Bleeding Green Nation. During the off-season, he’s been writing his mock
draft blog and just wrote up–a rather lengthy–mock pick for the Seahawks at
#32.
Personally, not enamored with the pick, but he does a VERY deep dive into the
offensive and defensive makeup of the Hawks, trying…
After months of build up, the Seattle Seahawks are less than 48 hours from being on the clock for their first pick of the NFL Draft, as long as they hold on to pick No. 32 in the first round.
Seahawks Draft: A mid-round edge rusher with elite length
While the offensive line has long been a need for the Seahawks in drafts, this year running back, edge rusher and cornerback are among their top positions of need.
Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard highlighted a pair of players who could help bolster the Seahawks’ edge group as he continued his draft profile series Tuesday during Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.
In this edition of Huard’s draft profiles, he looked at Michigan edge rushers Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham, who also played on the same team together in high school at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
Huard pointed to the connection head coach Mike Macdonald, a former Michigan defensive coordinator, and many members of his coaching staff have to the Michigan program.
“They know these guys, they know them inside and out,” Huard said. “They typically like they’re Michigan men, and these are two physical guys that have all the attributes you’re looking for on the edge.”
The high-floor pick
Moore is coming off a decorated four-year career at Michigan where he piled up 24.5 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, eight passes defended and three forced fumbles in 53 games.
This past season, the 6-foot-3, 255-pound Moore totaled 10.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles while earning first-team All-Big Ten honors.
“I think this is a pretty fair quote about him: ‘Unselfish, well-rounded, high floor.’ Is he a high-ceiling guy? Not as much as Barham, but he’s a very high-floor guy,” Huard said.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has Moore ranked as the No. 65 prospect in this years draft. ESPN has him ranked 60th.
“He is just your fierce, tough, edgy, productive (player),” Huard said. “He played in space a little bit more. They are field-boundary scheme at Michigan at times. He’s been more of the field rusher, more against your left tackle. And (he’s) just got more in the tool bag… He’s been a defensive end. He’s pretty well versed in it. He’s going to have a bigger tool bag, I think, than both Boye (Mafe) and Derrick Hall had, and he’s going to be a second, late-second-round (pick). Rugged, tough Michigan guy.”
The high-ceiling pick
Barham spent his first two college seasons at Maryland, which included earning Freshman All-American honors in 2022, and transferred to Michigan in 2024. He played linebacker at Maryland and in his first season at Michigan before making the move to edge for his final college season.
In 12 games at a new position in 2025, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Barham amassed 10 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
“Jaishawn Barham is a little bit more of a wild card, and one of the scouts that was quoted in some of the prep for this said he may bloom with the right coaching,” Huard said.
Huard recalled seeing Barham as a freshman at Maryland while he was doing color commentary for FOX and being in awe of how physically mature he already looked.
“I remember being on the field, as a freshman, looking at him going, ‘There’s just no way. There’s no way humanly possible that that guy played high school football the year before,’” Huard said.
Jeremiah has Barham ranked as the No. 77 prospect in the draft. ESPN has him ranked 88th.
“He is a higher ceiling guy you’re going to have to coach up,” Huard said. “He doesn’t come with years and years and years of experience on the edge.”
Seattle Seahawks NFL Draft coverage
• An under-the-radar Seattle Seahawks need Brock Huard sees
• NFL Draft: What – and who – Seahawks could get by trading back
• Why Hasselbeck says Seahawks are in great spot to trade back
• Seattle Seahawks open to trading top pick for bigger draft class
• A player Seahawks could trade for another draft pick
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