Ramiz Idrizi was acquitted of one charge of assault but was convicted of attempting to sexually assault a girl under 13 on board the aircraft in November last year
A man has been found guilty of several offences committed on a flight from Paris, including the attempted sexual assault of a girl under 13.
Whilst Ramiz Idrizi was cleared of one charge of assaulting a woman, the-38-year-old was convicted of attempting to sexually assault her daughter and also of assaulting a male passenger who had confronted him.
Before the contested hearing commenced at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court, Idrizi, residing at Woodvale Avenue in Dublin, pleaded guilty to being intoxicated on an aircraft and to using offensive language towards cabin crew.
During the four-hour trial, the court heard how the incident unfolded on an EasyJet flight from Paris to Belfast International on November 14 last year.
Idrizi had drunk most of the five small bottles of wine he had purchased during the flight, but when the plane was approximately half an hour from landing, the young girl’s mother said the defendant “was kicking my seat.”, reports Belfast Live.
At one point, Idrizi declared “I’m horny” and reached between the fuselage and the seat, attempting to touch the little girl’s leg, causing her to jump up.
A man seated in the same row as the mother testified that he saw “a flash of a hand” beside the child’s seat so noticing that both were uncomfortable with the situation, he offered to swap seats.
He confronted Idrizi about his behaviour but the defendant retorted, “your mother’s a slut”.
The court was told that moments before the incident, Idrizi had been heard “hacking up phlegm” and the woman seated in the aisle in the same row stated that he had been “spitting and talking to himself.”
Flight attendants were alerted to the situation and after making an announcement that alcohol service had ceased, Idrizi was approached.
He declined requests to surrender his remaining wine and to change seats. The passengers surrounding him were relocated instead, but the court was told that as the aircraft began its descent, Idrizi was observed “punching the wall of the fuselage.”
Taking the stand in his own defence, Idrizi acknowledged that he called the passenger’s mother a slut and admitted he was drunk.
He refuted attempting to touch the girl, arguing that as a six-foot-tall man, the only occasion he made contact with her seat was when grabbing it whilst standing up.
Idrizi also disputed that he had been spitting or coughing up phlegm.
However, when delivering his verdict, District Judge Nigel Broderick stated he was convinced the various witnesses, both passengers and crew members, had provided “credible and reliable evidence.”
After recording the guilty verdicts, Judge Broderick commented: “I think in fairness to the defendant, I’m going to get a report.”
Releasing Idrizi on bail, the judge confirmed he would sentence the case on April 28.