Man Convicted of Sexually Abusing Fellow Passenger Aboard International Flight to Chicago

CHICAGO - A man was found guilty in federal court today of sexually abusing a fellow passenger aboard an international flight to Chicago.

JOSIP PASIC, 85, of Chicago, sat next to the victim on an Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna, Austria, to Chicago on Aug. 17, 2024. On multiple occasions during the flight, Pasic touched the victim's outer thigh, inner thigh, and groin area, over the victim's objections. To hide what he was doing, Pasic sometimes covered all or part of his hand with a black piece of fabric.

The victim began covertly recording Pasic's actions on a cell phone camera. The victim showed the videos to a flight attendant and was relocated to another part of the plane for the remainder of the flight.

After a three-day bench trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago, U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood convicted Pasic of engaging in abusive sexual contact on an aircraft. The victim bravely testified at trial about his ordeals on the flight.

The conviction is punishable by up to two years in federal prison. Judge Wood has not yet scheduled a sentencing date.

The conviction was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Ryan Whalen, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hayley Altabef and Cornelius Vandenberg.