13 months in prison for Haredi from Monsi for serious act against female passenger on El Al flight'

July 21, 2017   

Yoel Oberlander, 36, a resident of Muncie, New York, was convicted yesterday (Thursday) of assaulting a female passenger during an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Newark in May of last year - and sentenced to 13 months in prison. Oberlander admitted to assaulting and intentionally ambushing a female passenger sitting next to him on a flight to Newark Airport. According to Oberlander's confession, he committed a serious act on the female passenger sitting in the middle seat in the row, while Oberlander was sitting next to her in the window seat and on the other side of her was her mother. During the flight, after dinner was served to the passengers and the lights were dimmed, Oberlander began to commit serious acts, after thinking she was asleep. According to the indictment, the complainant reported the incident to the flight crew, but El Al noted that no complaint was received during the flight. This is the third time that Oberlander has been involved in an incident of committing serious acts. In 2002, he was convicted of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in New York City. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years of probation. In 2012, Oberlander was arrested after being accused of sneaking into the "Salvation" summer camp in the Catskill Mountains, where young children sleep, and sexually assaulting them. The prosecution failed to produce evidence of abuse, and he was charged with trespassing.