Dr. Sudipta Mohanty, a 33-year-old Indian-American physician employed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, has been found not guilty after a three-day trial in a Boston federal court.
The case centered around allegations of inappropriate behavior during a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to Boston in May 2022. Dr. Mohanty, a primary care physician, strongly denied the accusations.
The accuser, a 14-year-old girl who remains unidentified, asserted that Dr. Mohanty engaged in lewd behavior during the flight. She described the doctor covering himself with a blanket up to his neck and exhibiting a bouncing leg motion, causing her discomfort.
Expressing her feelings of disgust, the minor moved to an adjacent empty seat.
Despite the severity of the allegations, the trial concluded with Dr. Mohanty's acquittal, highlighting the complexities and challenges associated with such cases.
Dr. Mohanty, in a written statement, expressed bewilderment at the accusations, particularly since his fiancée was seated beside him during the flight.
He emphasized his lifelong commitment to a career in healthcare and lamented the toll the false accusations took on both his personal and professional life.
The minor, who has not been named, accused him of masturbating, adding that the man had covered himself with a blanket up to his neck and that his leg was bouncing up and down.
The girl moved to a nearby empty seat and claimed to have felt "disgusted".
After the plane landed in Boston, she told her grandparents about her experience and they notified the police.