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.”

Bob Stelton’s Baseball Breakdown picks up after the MLB trade deadline where we saw the Mariners make some of the biggest splashes in the league – but was it enough? Are the injuries mounting too fast? Why weren’t any of the bigger bats moved before the deadline? And are the M’s better equipped to win the AL West today?

Bob’s Baseball Breakdown is sponsored by Muckleshoot Resort Casino.

Listen to The Wyman & Bob Show weekdays from 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM or on-demand wherever you listen to podcasts.

More info about The Wyman & Bob Show here:
https://sports.mynorthwest.com/category/wyman-and-bob/

More Seattle Mariners coverage from SeattleSports.com:
https://sports.mynorthwest.com/category/mariners/

A troubling trend is starting to emerge for the Seattle Mariners.

How experts are grading Seattle Mariners trade deadline moves

After falling 3-2 in extra innings to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, the Mariners have dropped seven consecutive one-run contests. They finished the month just of July with just one victory by one run and now sit 19-16 in such games.

The streak started inconspicuously with a comeback bid falling short in a 5-4 loss to the Blue Jays on July 6, but the close losses have been brutal since.

• July 7: Ryne Stanek allows game-tying, three-run home run in seventh as Mariners fall 5-4 in 10 innings against the Blue Jays for second straight one-run defeat.

• July 12-14: Seattle goes a combined 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position during a stretch of three straight one-run losses to the lowly Angels before the All-Star break, including two games it led in the eighth inning or later.

• July 24: Gregory Santos allows two runs and surrenders lead in eighth during fourth one-run loss to the Angels in July.

• July 31: Mariners go 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and fail to score with a runner on third and no outs in the 10th during a 3-2 loss to the Red Sox.

“What’s most discouraging and it’s almost a little concerning, is the fact that all these close games now the Mariners are losing,” Mike Lefko said on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.  “… That’s tough to stomach.”

What was once a strength of the team has become a weakness over the past month. One-run success is what fueled the M’s during their surprise 90-win 2021 campaign and the drought-busing playoff season in 2022. They led the league in one-run victories both years and went a combined 67-41.

“For the past few years when they had made the playoffs and have been in contention, that one-run record had gotten so much scrutiny because in 2021 and 2022 it was absurdly good,” Lefko said.

In last season’s playoff miss, they went just 25-26 in one-run games. However, a 19-9 start in those contests this season seemed to point towards a positive shift.

Continued lack of production from the offense and shaky performances from the bullpen have been the culprits for the recent struggles.

The Mariners have scored two runs or fewer four times and are averaging 2.7 runs per game during their losing streak in one-run games. They’re also a combined 7 for 56 and haven’t mustered more than two hits in a game with runners in scoring position.

Meanwhile, the bullpen has surrendered a lead in the seventh inning or later in four of the losses. There hasn’t been much room for error for the group with many of the leads being slim, but it’s a unit the team is heavily relying upon to come through in those situations.

Listen to the full conversation about the Mariners at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More on Seattle Mariners and the trade deadline

• Mariners Trade Deadline Tracker: Keep up on every move
• Mariners’ Dipoto on top prospects staying put at deadline
• Drayer: Mariners navigated thin market for deadline adds
• A closer look at Mariners trade acquisition Justin Turner
• Mariners strike deal with Marlins, reunite with veteran reliever

Follow @ZacHereth