India businessman, 44, rapes girl, 15, on flight to Switzerland

An Indian businessman, 44, has been convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl on a Swiss International Air Lines AG (Swiss) flight to Switzerland.

The Daily Mail reported that the man who is married, carried out the sex attack on the girl who he sat next to in March during a nine-hour flight from Mumbai to Zurich.

The perpetrator was reportedly on a business trip to Belgium.

How the attack happened

The girl and the man reportedly had a brief conversation before she fell asleep.

Blick, a Swiss German-language newspaper and news site, reported that the girl was accompanied by a parent on the flight though it did not mention where her parent was seated.

As the girl slept, the man performed sex acts on her and himself.

The Daily Mail reported that according to an indictment filed by the Zurich Public Prosecutor's Office for Serious Violent Crime, the man touched the girl repeatedly and put his arm around her.

The girl did not respond to his acts. She sat back up, leaned back in her seat and continued sleeping. Her head and body were reportedly under a blanket

The man then raped her, penetrating her with his fingers, according to Blick.

The indictment stated that the girl went 'into shock' due to the abusive behaviour and was unable to say or do anything.

She was said to have endured the assault without saying a word or moving until the accused let go of her of his own accord.

The girl later alerted cabin crew staff who immediately moved her away from the perpetrator and looked after her.

Perpetrator convicted of rape

Police were informed of the incident and arrested the man at Zurich Airport.

A district court in Zurich convicted the man of rape and sexual acts with a child.

The perpetrator also admitted that the young woman had not consented. He also knew she was young though he did not know her exact age.

This comes after the National Council of Switzerland and the Council of States agreed on the formula 'no means no', where rape is considered to occur if the victim indicates through words or gestures they do not consent to the act.

The victim's state of shock was deemed to be a sufficient sign of rejection.

"Barely appropriate" sentence

The perpetrator received a suspended sentence of one and a half years. However, he will not need to serve it as he has been in custody since March.

According to The Daily Mail, the judge described the sentence as rather lenient and "barely appropriate".

The man is banned from entering Switzerland for the next five years. He is also prohibited from engaging in any activity involving regular contact with minors for life.

He also has to pay approximately 8,250 euros (around S$12,330) for the proceedings. A confiscated amount of 1,247 euros (around S$1,865) taken from the man will be used to cover these costs.

The man was released from custody after the trial and handed over to the Migration Office for deportation.

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