BOZEMAN — A New Jersey man who pleaded guilty in March to repeatedly touching a woman on a Bozeman-bound aircraft in September 2023 was sentenced on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, according to U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich.
Following his March guilty plea, 31-year-old Piyush Mathew of Robbinsville Township, New Jersey was sentenced to five years of probation with six months of home confinement. He is ordered to register as a sex offender and to pay a total of $5,100 in special assessments.
The government alleged in court documents that Mathew and the victim were seated next to each other on a flight from Newark, New Jersey to Bozeman on Sept. 7, 2023. Mathew, in the aisle seat, reportedly raised the armrest between him and the woman in the window seat before take-off and then assaulted the victim for the duration of the flight once airborne.
Mathew reportedly pretended to be asleep while touching the victim multiple times on different parts of her body, including her thighs, fingers, arms, stomach, and breasts.
According to the government's case, the victim attempted to lean forward at one point, but Mathew placed his hands on her side. Court documents say that the woman was in fear of Mathew and intended to alert the flight crew of his behavior upon the plane's arrival in Bozeman.
Mathew reportedly stood immediately behind the victim for deboarding, which caused the victim to feel as though she couldn't report the incident to the flight crew. She reportedly asked another male passenger she did not know to pretend he was a friend of her husband's and stay with her as they left the airplane.
The male passenger told investigators that during the flight, he observed Mathew lean toward the victim and that she “looked like she was about to cry” after they landed.
Law enforcement later approached Mathew in New Jersey, according to court documents; when Mathew was told they were investigating an incident on the flight, he reportedly said, “Did she complain that I was touching her?”
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over Mathew's sentencing. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and investigated by the FBI, Gallatin Airport Authority, and Bozeman Airport Police.
