Man convicted of abusive sexual contact of teen on flight to Seattle

SEATAC, Wash. — A Seattle man was convicted of abusive sexual contact in federal court on Friday for touching a 16-year-old girl during a flight from Paris to Seattle.

According to case records and trial testimony, on Jul. 3, 2022, Milan Edward Jurkovic was a passenger on the same Air France flight as a school group from Western Washington who were returning from a class trip.

A 16-year-old girl was sitting next to Jurkovic.

Several hours into the flight, Jurkovic reached under a blanket covering the teen and began to touch her thigh, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

“The victim was shocked and frozen with fear. Jurkovic proceeded to rub her thigh for an extended period of time, touching her inner thigh, before the victim was able to pull away and seek assistance from a classmate and then her chaperone. The chaperone traded places with the victim for the duration of the flight,” the news release said.

After the flight crew was notified about the incident, the plane was met at Sea-Tac Airport by Port of Seattle Police.

Case documents say when Jurkovic was interviewed by authorities, he gave contradictory statements depending on who he spoke with.

He was indicted by a grand jury on Jan. 4, 2023, and arrested Jan. 30, 2023.

Abusive sexual contact carries a sentence of up to two years in prison.

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