Vincent Kopacek Fredericksburg Texas 76 year old man repeatedly groped girl, 15, on Allegiant Airlines flight from Texas to Montana. Faces 15 years jail.
Traveling with strangers… A teenage girl traveling to the Yellowstone National Park area for a family vacation was repeatedly groped by an elderly man on her flight to Montana last week, federal authorities charged.
Vincent Kopacek, 76, of Fredericksburg, Texas, allegedly touched the 15-year-old victim while he was sitting in the seat behind her on the July 8 flight from Austin, Texas, to the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, according to charging documents.
Before the Allegiant Airlines Flight 2606 flight took off, Kopacek placed his hands on the girl’s window aisle seat — then began to ‘touch her body as the flight progressed,’ an affidavit filed by FBI agents who investigated the case stated.
‘Shortly after takeoff, [Kopacek] grabbed and squeezed her arm,’ the affidavit continued.
‘He then moved his hand between her arm and her torso, brushed his fingers along her torso and grabbed her waist. At some point, the male touched her chest and groped her breast over her clothes,’ it added.
Texas Man Arrested for Alleged Sex Assault of Minor Aboard an Aircraft: Vincent Harry Kopacek was arrested for attempted sexual abuse of a minor, abusive sexual contact, and assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction. https://t.co/ST8Ya5TXIl
— FBI Salt Lake City (@FBISaltLakeCity) July 14, 2021
Traumatized teen
The traumatized teen, identified as ‘AG’ in the documents, adjusted her body several times to avoid the man’s hands, including to get up to go to the bathroom in a bid to get away from him, the documents state.
‘AG stated she was uncomfortable with the male touching her and during the flight she tried to distract herself so she would not cry,’ the affidavit stated. ‘AG was scared that the male would get his hand into her pants. AG felt disrespected and gross by the male touching her and felt guilty for not speaking up.’
The quick-thinking girl also took some 20 short videos and several photos to document the alleged groping, according to the feds.
‘In at least one video, the hand is groping AG over her shirt while AG looks at her phone,’ the documents state.
Another image included the victim taking a photo of the man following her while walking to the baggage claim.
The teen told her parents about the incident when they arrived at their hotel, who then called the police.
FBI agents arrested Kopacek in Bozeman on July 11 when he checked in for his flight departing the airport.
During his initial appearance in US District Court in Missoula, Judge Kathleen ordered Kopacek detained pending his next hearing the dailymail reported.
At the time, Kopacek was charged with assault, abusive sexual contact, and attempted sexual abuse of a minor.
If convicted of the most serious crime, Kopacek faces a maximum 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release.
