A British man has been arrested after a fellow passenger claimed she was raped in the first-class cabin on a transatlantic overnight flight.
The alleged victim, also British, claims she was attacked while others slept on the flight from Newark, New Jersey to London‘s Heathrow airport.
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She complained to the cabin crew of the United Airlines flight saying a man had forced her to have sex with him, according to The Sun.
Cabin crew called ahead to London police to report the incident, and Metropolitan Police officers boarded the plane to arrest a 40-year-old man after it had landed at the airport’s Terminal 2 around 6.30 am on Monday last week.
The woman, also 40, was taken by police to a rape counselling facility and was interviewed by officers who specialise in rape cases.
Meanwhile, officers conducted a search of the luxury cabin while the man – who was arrested on suspicion of rape – was taken into custody at Heathrow police station.
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There, officers took scans of his fingerprints, a mugshot, and DNA samples. He has since been released under investigation, with an inquiry ongoing.
The arrest and investigation was confirmed by a spokesman for the Metropolitan police, The Sun reported
According to the newspaper, sources said the two people were sitting in different rows in the cabin, in which return-flight tickets cost as much as £3,000.
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They appeared to be strangers, but during the flight had been talking with each other and drinking together at the bar in the cabin’s lounge.
‘The parties were apparently unknown to each other beforehand but had apparently been seen talking to each other and drinking during the flight,’ the source said.
Speaking to The Sun, the source praised the police for taking the woman’s accusation seriously and confirmed officers had examined the location on the plane the alleged attack had taken place.
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